‘Too Much’ or ‘Too Many’: Using Quantifiers in English

Have you ever wondered whether to say too much or too many? Or perhaps you’re unsure when to use enough? The good news is that learning these quantifiers in English will help you sound more natural!

The Coffee Break English Show is a podcast series of informal conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in English. In the latest episode, Nick and Anabel explore how to use these common quantifiers in English and when to choose one over the other.

So let’s take a closer look at too much, too many and enough and start putting them into practice! Continue reading to find out more, and why not listen to the podcast as you go?

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

First we need to establish what countable and uncountable nouns are.

When we talk about countable nouns, we mean nouns that can be plural. We can say I have one apple, I have two apples, three apples, etc. We normally show the plural form by adding the letter s (or es for words like leaves, watches, etc.) at the end of words but some countable nouns are irregular (person – people, child – children, woman – women, etc.).

When we talk about uncountable nouns, we mean nouns that are not possible to count by expressing a simple number before them. Liquids are uncountable because it is impossible to put a simple numerical quantity to them (water, oil, coffee, etc.). Many abstract ideas are uncountable too, such as information, news, money and light.

Too Much, Too Many, and Enough

Understanding when to use quantifiers is essential for speaking English correctly. These words help us describe quantity, but they have specific rules for their usage.

Too Much vs. Too Many

These phrases mean “more than necessary” or “more than wanted,” but the difference depends on whether the noun is countable or uncountable. 

Too much is used with uncountable nouns:

• There is too much sugar in my coffee.
• She spends too much time on her phone.

Too many is used with countable nouns:

• There are too many cars on the road at 5pm. Traffic is slow!
• I bought too many apples at the market. My bag broke on the way home!

We should always remember that when we use too much and too many, we are expressing a negative idea. We are saying that the quantity is a problem. If we just want to say that there is a very large quantity using much and many, we can say so much and so many.

• There is so much light in this room.
• There are so many castles in Scotland!

If you want more practice with quantifiers in English, check out Episode 5 of Season 1 of Coffee Break English!

Enough

The word enough means “sufficient” or “the right amount.” It can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

 Before a noun:

• We have enough chairs for everyone. 
• There is enough food for everyone, help yourself! 

After an adjective:

• She’s strong enough to lift the box. 
• The oven is hot enough now, we can put the pie in.

Not Enough

We use not enough to show that something is “insufficient”. It can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

• This coffee is not hot enough. 
• She doesn’t have enough money to buy a new phone. 

Common mistakes

Here are some common mistakes learners make when using quantifiers in English:

There are too much people in the room. ❌

There are too many people in the room. ✅

I don’t have too many time. ❌ 

I don’t have too much time. ✅

She didn’t buy enough big shoes. ❌   

She didn’t buy big enough shoes. ✅

Let’s Review

It’s your turn!

Now, let’s practise using quantifiers in English! Here are four situations. Try to make a sentence to describe each one using too much, too many, enough or not enough for each one.

Some possible answers are at the end of this blog post, but don’t look until you’ve thought about your answers!

1. I need £35 to pay for the dinner and I have £36.
2. There are 5 students and 3 chairs.
3. This pasta is extremely salty!
4. There are 6 people and 5 spaces in the car.

If you found this post interesting, make sure you listen to the full podcast episode with Nick and Anabel on The Coffee Break English Show. In this series, we talk about useful topics for English learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube.

Plus, don’t miss your free worksheet – perfect for extra practice after the lesson! When you sign up, you’ll also receive our short coffee break-sized email lessons, delivered straight to your inbox every week, to help you build your English skills. 💪 You’ll even hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, who shares regular tips and motivation for learners of all levels. Sign up below! 👇

So, start using quantifiers in English correctly whenever you can! The more you practice, the more natural your English will sound. Why not get a coffee now and test yourself with today’s practice exercises?

Happy Coffee Breaking!

P.s. Here are some possible answers to the prompts given above:

1. I have enough money.
2. There are not enough chairs (or there are too many students).
3. They put too much salt on the pasta.
4. There are not enough spaces in my car (or there are too many people for my car).

Listen to the podcast