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Guest Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Much problem

0 if problem is uncountable, why people say "much problem"? Is it a shortened version of "much of a problem" or problem can be uncountable, depending on meaning? 0-
  

Top answer

0 Hello Guest 02br 02br 00Are you able to give more context for 'much problem'? It's not a phrase I've heard used; though perhaps it's more common elsewhere. 02br 02br 00MrP 0-

— MrPedantic

  • 0 Hello Guest 02br 02br 00Are you able to give more context for 'much problem'?
  • It's not a phrase I've heard used; though perhaps it's more common elsewhere.
  • 02br 02br 00MrP 0-
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8 Answers
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0 Hello Guest 02br
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00Are you able to give more context for 'much problem'? It's not a phrase I've heard used; though perhaps it's more common elsewhere. 02br
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00MrP 0-
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0 If 'problem' is uncountable, which it isn't, 'much problem' should be the norm. 02br
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00Nevertheless, 'problems' are countable, so 'many problems' is the norm. 02br
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00As you point out "much of a problem" is a different phrase, where 'problem' is still countable, as shown by "a". 02br
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00I'm not aware of any situation in w
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0 An example: 02br
00Between now and then I don't really see MUCH PROBLEM in taking the recommended steps to prevent manmade global warming. 02br
00If you google for "Much problem", you will get 77,800 hits (which does not prove the correctness of the phrase, but shows it's popularity) 02br
05000 02br
00Any thoughts on that? 0240hrefhttp:/
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0 Hello Guest 02br
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00As you say, an astonishing number of hits. I've looked through the first few pages; to my ears, they all sound like mistakes for 'much of a problem' or 'much trouble'. 02br
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00I have to declare myself firmly in the 'frankly baffled' camp, at this stage. 02br
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00MrP 0-
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0 Any thought on that?, you say. 02br
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00Yes. I share Mr. P.'s opinion in that it just sounds like a mistake to me! Amazing! I suppose the easiest interpretation is, as stated earlier, that it's a short form of "much of a problem". 02br
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00CJ 0-
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0I have little problem with 'much problem'.05002br
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00"... in reality I have little problem with them having some fun and ... 02br
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00"... in reality I don't have much problem with them having some fun and ... 02br
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00Results 1 - 10 of about 2,120 English pages for "I don't have much problem with". 010id1
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0 It seems true many native speakers confuse "problem" with "trouble". But still the majority of them use "much trouble", not "much trouble". Google hit number for "much trouble with" is 101,000, and that for "much problem with" is 17,400. 02br
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00Guest 0-
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0 An uncountable noun can stand on its own as the subject of a sentence: 02br
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001. Despair is contagious. 02br
002. Homework is boring. 02br
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00But we can't construct a parallel sentence with 'problem'. 02br
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00MrP 0-
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