Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PatrickSiheung]

Just today I was teaching a grammar lesson and a student came up with a sentence "I have a lot of assignments." I didn't sound right to me, so I asked her to change it to "I have many assignments." Then I told them that "many" sounds better with countable nouns.

Of course, another student insisted that you could use "a lot of" with any countable noun.

All I could say was that although many people may talk that way, "many" sounds much better.

I liken it to the use of "look what I've got," rather than "look what I have."

I'm wondering if it's just the way I speak, or if there is a hard-and-fast rule for the use of "a lot of" and "many."

[gypsyfish]

Nothing wrong with a lot of. It's less formal, so in some situations a person might not want to use it, but generally, no problem.

[denverdeath]

I think the student's sentence was fine.

I have a lot of pickles on my plate. I have many pickles on my plate. A lot of pickles are in the bowl. Many pickles are in the bowl. I would use either and say that both are correct. I also think that "I have money," "I've got money," and "I got money" are all okay although the third one sounds a little awkward. Being from Canada, I tend to use both American and British forms. I think the "I have got" is more British sounding.

[PatrickSiheung]

Really? I was raised to never say "I have got." I had it drilled into me so many times that it hurts my ears when someone says it now. lol.

Okay, thanks guys. I'll have to tell that student it's just a matter of preference.

[VanIslander]

Your student is right. You are wrong.

At least in terms of formal grammar: "many" and "much" are to be used in questions and negative statements; "a lot of" is to be used with positive statements of both countable and uncountable nouns. A hundred old grammar books say so, as do several ESL teaching texts sitting on my shelf.

Of course, common usage varies.

But basically, your student has better grammar than you. That's the fact jack!

[ladyandthetramp]

I agree completely with Van Islander.

I use "a lot of / lots of" for count and non-count. So does everyone I know. Using "many" or "much" when speaking in simple statements generally sounds strange (to me).

[VanIslander]

Most of us are hired to provide conversational and pronunciation skills. Regarding those areas we are superior to Koreans.

But when it comes to English grammar, a lot of Korean English students know more than most of us ever will.

We should AT LEAST be a bit hesitant before telling them how grammar should NOT be.

I learned my lesson the hard way. In Canada I never heard anybody say "at the weekend". When I first came to Korea I thought of it as a wrong use of a preposition, until I noticed its British, Australian and New Zealander usage.

[joe_doufu]

Yeah. It should be "a lot of assignments" or "lots of assignments", "scads of assignments", "oodles of assignments", or the more visual "I've got assignments up the butt", but not "many assignments".

[gypsyfish]

[jacl]

[jacl]

There's another debate with "a lot", but it's a waste of time.

"a lot" is fine and easy to use for "much" or "many". Students should be commended for using it.

[Privateer]

I agree. Given the problem students have using 'much' and 'many' correctly they'd be better off using 'a lot of' or 'lots of' as a default.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[PatrickSiheung]

Thanks a lot guys. Although a tad harsh, you taught me something today lol. I'll owe that student an apology next week.

And since I'd rather not make a mistake like that again in the future... anyone know of any good sites explaining English Grammar for teachers?

[plattwaz]

Not the original topic, but this has come up in the thread so....

Using "have got" is the norm in British English, and although to North American ears it sounds wrong, it is not incorrect.