Not (that) much of

Question

Hi,I’m wondering if the following two sentences have the same meaning or not. If not, what does sentence #2 mean?He is not that much of a fool.He is not much of a fool. Thank you in advance.

GPY · Accepted Answer

LabgaHe is not that much of a fool.

This sentence (specifically the wording "that much") typically makes a comparison with some level of foolishness that has been mentioned or is understood from context. E.g.:

A: He won't go and tell Laura, will he?
B: No, he's not that much of a fool.

LabgaHe is not much of a fool.

To me, this is not a very natural thing to say. We normally use the pattern "He is not much of a ~" to talk about the lack of a positive or desired trait. For example, "He is not much of a singer".

Not (that) much of

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