/ mʌtʃ; NAmE / determiner , pronoun , adverb
■ determiner , pronoun
used with uncountable nouns, especially in negative sentences to mean 'a large amount of sth', or after 'how' to ask about the amount of sth. It is also used with 'as', 'so' and 'too' :
I don't have much money with me.
'Got any money?' ' Not much .'
How much water do you need?
How much is it (= What does it cost) ?
Take as much time as you like.
There was so much traffic that we were an hour late.
I've got far too much to do.
( formal )
I lay awake for much of the night.
( formal )
There was much discussion about the reasons for the failure.
•
IDIOMS
- as much
- as much as sb can do
- not much in it
- not much of a ...
- this much
■ adverb
( more , most ) to a great degree :
Thank you very much for the flowers.
I would very much like to see you again.
He isn't in the office much (= often) .
You worry too much .
My new job is much the same as the old one.
Much to her surprise he came back the next day.
She's much better today.
The other one was much too expensive.
Nikolai's English was much the worst .
We are very much aware of the lack of food supplies.
I'm not much good at tennis.
He was much loved by all who knew him.
an appeal to raise much-needed cash
•
IDIOMS
- much as
—more at less adverb
••
GRAMMAR
much / a lot of / lots of
Much is used only with uncountable nouns. It is used mainly in questions and negative sentences:
Do you have much free time?
•
How much experience have you had?
•
I don't have much free time.
In statements a lot of or lots of (informal) is much more common:
'How much (money) does she earn?
•
She earns a lot of money.
You can also use plenty (of) . These phrases can also be used in questions and negative sentences.
A lot of / lots of is still felt to be informal, especially in BrE , so in formal writing it is better to use much , a great deal of or a large amount of .
Very much and a lot can be used as adverbs:
I miss my family very much.
• I miss very much my family. •
I miss my family a lot.
•
Thanks a lot.
In negative sentences you can use much :
I didn't enjoy the film (very) much.
· note at many
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : shortened from muchel , from Old English micel great, numerous, much , of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Greek megas , megal- .