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Minhuoc Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

many/a lot of

I think "many" and "a lot of " can be used in this case. However, why can only a choice be made? Thanks

"The students had many/ a lot of difficulty with the last lesson."
  

Top answer

The students had [much / a lot of / a great deal of / many a] difficulty with the last lesson. ) _______________ The students had [many / a lot of / a great many ] difficul ties with the last lesson. ) CJ

— CalifJim

  • The students had [much / a lot of / a great deal of / many a] difficulty with the last lesson.
  • ) _______________ The students had [many / a lot of / a great many ] difficul ties with the last lesson.
  • ) CJ
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5 Answers
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The students had
[much /
a lot of /
a great deal of /
many a]
difficulty with the last lesson.

(Not many.)
_______________

The students had
[many /
a lot of /
a great many ]
difficulties with the last lesson.

(Not much.)

CJ
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Thanks Calif Jim

But sometimes I notice that "difficulty" is "difficulties".

Is it a countable noun?
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Hi,

I want to pursue that line of inquiry. I think CalifJim said that you can use much and a lot of but not many because initially your question dealt with the sentence, "The students had many/a lot of difficulty with the last lesson." I think the word difficulty is a variable noun where it can be used as a countable noun or an uncountable noun depending on the context invol
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You could say:
"The students had many a difficulty with the last lesson."
but that would work mainly only in a literary context.
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Good point. I'll edit my post above to include these additional ideas.
CJ
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