many

determiner, pronoun (many, more, most)

«many» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

Many means a large number of things or people: many birds. tree →
«How many» asks for a number: How many cats do you have? tree →
«As many as» compares two equal numbers. tree →
«Too many» means more than is wanted; «so many» means a great number. tree →
(casual) Chatty talk says «loads», «heaps» (Australia, NZ), «tons», «a ton of», «lots», «a bunch of», «a load of», «a gazillion» instead of many. tree →
(casual) «How many he got then?» is broken grammar for «How many has he got?». tree →
(formal) The exam voice says «numerous», «a considerable number of», «a multitude of», «the number of», «what quantity of». tree →

In the lessons

in «how many», asking for a count; «how many more/fewer … than» asks for a difference; «twice as many» = multiply by 2; «as many as» = equal; in everyday life «so many», «too many», «many times»; «many happy returns» (happy birthday); in casual talk «heaps», «loads», «tons»; in the exam voice «Determine the number of …», «numerous», «a considerable number of»

Examples

How many cards does Zoe have now? tree →
How many more stickers does Ali have than Mia? tree →
Tom has twice as many pens as Sue. tree →
Many children walk to school. tree →
How many legs does a spider have? tree →
There are too many toys on the floor. tree →
I have read this book many times. tree →
Sam has as many cards as Leo. tree →
there's heaps of chips, take as many as ya want tree →
how many he got left then? tree →
I've told you a million times! tree →
State the number of legs possessed by 3 spiders, each spider having 8 legs. tree →
Many years passed by after this. tree →

Note

«how many» alone asks for a number, not an operation; «determine the number of» in an exam asks the same. Trap: «how many more/fewer … than» asks for a difference; «twice as many» means multiply by 2. «many» goes with things you can count (many apples); «much» with things you cannot (much water). «heaps», «loads», «a million times» are vague: they mean «a lot», not an exact number. A spider has 8 legs.

In Jewish tradition

Examples

And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days. (Torah GEN.21.34, JPS 1917) tree →
So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there. (Torah DEU.1.46, JPS 1917) tree →
The Emim dwelt therein aforetime, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; (Torah DEU.2.10, JPS 1917) tree →
And he sought for them many wives. (Writings 2CH.11.23, JPS 1917) tree →
How many are mine iniquities and sins? (Writings JOB.13.23, JPS 1917) tree →
LORD, how many are mine adversaries become! (Writings PSA.3.2, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «many» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«many» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
Trees and pragmatics of «many» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«many» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.

This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/many/