many

man|y

W1S1 [ˈmeni] determiner, pron, adj

[: Old English; Origin: manig]

1.) a large number of people or things

≠ ↑few

→↑more, most ↑most, much ↑much

▪ Many people have to use a car to travel to work.

▪ I don't have many friends.

▪ My mother has lived in Spain for many years.

▪ Do you get many visitors?

▪ Some of the houses have bathrooms but many do not.

▪ His third novel is regarded by many (=a lot of people) as his best.

many of

▪ Many of our staff work part-time.

▪ There are plenty of cafes and bars, many of them serving excellent food.

▪ There are so many things we disagree about.

▪ Not many (=only a few) people can afford my services.

▪ You've been reading too many romantic novels (=more than you should) .

▪ One job loss is one too many (=one more than is acceptable, needed etc) .

the many people/things etc

▪ We should like to thank the many people who have written to us offering their support.

many hundreds/thousands/millions

▪ military equipment worth many millions of dollars

a great many/a good many/very many

(=a very large number)

▪ Most of the young men went off to the war, and a great many never came back.

▪ It all happened a good many years ago.

2.) how many

used to ask or talk about how large a number or quantity is

▪ How many sisters do you have?

▪ I didn't know how many tickets to buy.

3.) as many

a number that is equal to another number

▪ They say the people of Los Angeles speak 12 languages and teach just as many in the schools.

as many (...) as

▪ Grandfather claimed to have as many medals as the general.

▪ There weren't as many people at the meeting as we had hoped.

in as many days/weeks/games etc

▪ A great trip! We visited five countries in as many days (=in five days) .

twice/three times etc as many

▪ The company now employs four times as many women as men.

4.) as many as 50/1000 etc

used to emphasize how surprisingly large a number is

▪ As many as 10,000 civilians are thought to have fled the area.

5.) many a sth

formal or

old-fashioned a large number of people or things

▪ Many a parent has had to go through this same painful process.

▪ I've sat here many a time (=often) and wondered what happened to her.

6.) many's the time/day etc (that/when)

old-fashioned used to say that a particular thing has happened often

▪ Many's the time we've had to borrow money in order to get through the month.

7.) have had one too many informal

to be drunk

▪ Don't pay any attention to him - he's had one too many.

8.) many thanks

written used especially in formal letters to thank someone for something

many thanks for

▪ Many thanks for your letter of 17 March.

9.) the many

formal a very large group of people, especially the public in general

▪ This war is another example of the few sacrificing their lives for the many.

→in as many words at ↑word¹

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GRAMMAR

Many is used mainly in questions and negative sentences : Were there many people at the party? | There weren't many people at the party.

In other sentences, phrases like a lot of and plenty of are used instead : Slovakia has a lot of small towns (NOT Slovakia has many small towns).

However, many can be used in formal English : Many politicians expressed concern about the high level of defence spending.

Many can also be used after too , so , and as : There are too many mistakes in this work. | I didn't realize I had so many friends. | Bring as many people as you want.

!! Do not use 'and' after many and before an adjective : There are not many interesting Sunday newspapers (NOT There are not many and interesting Sunday newspapers).

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