As much as vs as many as

Question

Hello,1. You cannot find a single leaf on the tree.I have to rewrite the sentence using "as much as " or "as many as".a)   You cannot find as much as a single leaf on the tree.b)   You cannot find  as many as a single leaf on the tree.Which one is correct? Generally we use "much" in a negative sentence  and  for the noun that is uncountable."Many" with countable noun.         Could anyone   explain it to me?Thanks.

Cbsteh · Accepted Answer

Leaves are countable, so you should use "many".

Chris

Danielalace · Answer

Hello Hunuman_2000!

The correct answer is letter a.

As much in this sentence is being used as as idiom, meaning Almost the same: ex. I thought as much. She said as much.

According to Webster´s:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nearly , http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/approximately <looks much the way his father did>
— as much
1: the same in quantity <not quite as much money>2: to the same degree <likes baseball almost as much as he likes golf>

The issue here is the latter part of the sentence (a single leaf on the tree). So you are making a comparison regarding similar amounts. To write a phrase using as much as within the tradional grammar rules, you would be dealing with countables and uncountables and using a form of comparative. Ex.

She does't read as much as as her brother. (Much here refers to the time she spends reading, and time is uncountable)
She doesn´t read as many books as her brother. (Many here refers to books, and book are countable)

Hope this helped!

Daniela.

Jjane · Answer

You cannot find as much as a single leaf on the tree.

I think this is correct.

Yankee · Answer

Hi Hanuman

I'd say you've used "(not) as much as" as a variation of the idiom "(not) so much as", which is used like the word "even" as an intensifier when something is surprising or unexpected.

http://www.bartleby.com/61/97/S0559700.html
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/so+much+as
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=as%20much%20as

Thus, the sentence "You cannot find as/so much as a single leaf on the tree." could be reworded this way:
You cannot find even one leaf on the tree.

As much as vs as many as

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