Much and Many

[cecilia]

I would like to know more about the use of these two words. I already have two grammar books, since they are not new I wonder if these words can be accepted in affirmative sentences such as answers like this:" Yes, there is much."
The grammar books say they are used mainly in negative statements and questions, or followed by words like "too-as-etc.", but nothing about this reply.
Thanks a lot.

[LarryLatham]

I would like to know more about the use of these two words. I already have two grammar books, since they are not new I wonder if these words can be accepted in affirmative sentences such as answers like this:" Yes, there is much."
The grammar books say they are used mainly in negative statements and questions, or followed by words like "too-as-etc.", but nothing about this reply.
Thanks a lot.

Hi Cecilia, and welcome to the rap. It's nice to have a colleague from Argentina join us.

I'm guessing, from the nature of your question, that you are not a native English speaker. If you examine very carefully the discussions on grammar by teachers who are native speakers, you'll find that almost all of us are much more accepting of 'possible' English sentences than are teachers who learned the language in school. The main reason for this, I believe, is that people who learn a language academically know it through successful study. In other words, they have proved themselves to be excellent students by passing a number of examinations and progressing through a series of increasingly "advanced" classes. Native speakers are different. We learned at our mother's knee, so to speak. We gained our expertise by trial and error as a fearless child. And by doing so, we learned that English (the same is probably true of most other languages) is extremely flexible, unlike what the textbooks seem to suggest. We learned that just about anything you can say that other people can clearly understand is indeed acceptable. Grammar, for us native speakers, is distinctly not a set of "rules" to be followed rigidly for fear someone will think we are ignorant of how to speak "correctly." Instead, grammar is more like an arrangement of general principles which can be a guide to communicating clearly. The main goal is understanding between the producer of some language and those people who receive it, rather than occupation with correctness. Think about it. Don't you feel that way about your native language?

(I hope you don't feel that I'm being too academic, here, Cecilia. I simply want to lay down some background for my reply to your question.) You asked whether an expression like "Yes, there is much." could be accepted. I'll answer with another question: Can you think of any scenario where such an expression would almost certainly be clearly understood by another person? If you can, then you can say with authority that it is (or at least can be) acceptable. What, for example, if someone said to you, "There is too much corruption in the government." You agree with that statement, and you want to express your agreement. Do you think you could do it by saying, "Yes, there is much."?

Now, whether such a sentence is likely, is perhaps another matter. Just because a particular structure is possible is no guarantee that you are likely to hear it or read it. For that, you need massive exposure to the language, and that is where native speakers have the edge.

Good luck with your teaching.

Larry Latham

[Showem]

I could imagine myself saying, "Yes, there are many." but not "Yes, there is much." The more natural answer for both would probably be "Yes, there is a lot".

[john martin]

Larry's post has a great deal of validity. Indeed you should be complemented Larry on an articulate and sensible approach to the language. My wife is a non native speaker and uses grammar structures that I would not have learned on my mother's knee but are perfectly acceptable for communication purposes. In fact, although I love her dearly, my mum could learn a lot from my wife at times.
But I think showem gave the more natural phrase. Larry, I understand that you were not trying to do that in your post, you were looking at it from a different point of view.

[LarryLatham]

Yes, I also agree with showem that Yes, there's a lot would be the more natural phrase. Remember, I suggested that the other sentence might not be very likely. My interest was in responding to Cecilia's original question of whether her phrasing could be acceptable.

Larry Latham

[cecilia]

Thank you all for your quick replies.
You are all right, not being a native speaker makes me produce quite a formal style, and be always testing my grammar.

What Larry said took me to my first class ( when learning to be a teacher) to the words of our language teacher, and I quote: "...remember a language is a living thing, changing as we speak, bound to people, feelings and tradition".
And that is what you all kindly reminded me.

Yes, the same happens to our "Spanish" which is different from the one spoke in Spain.
By the way, I loved the expression " at our mother's knee".

Thanks again.