How Much Is A Lot?

We use much, many, a lot of and lots of to represent a large, unknown quantity.

We use many with plural nouns and much with uncountable nouns:

I don’t have many days off from work.

I don’t have much work to do today.

There are many people waiting for you outside.

But you can’t use much in affirmative phrases:

I have a lot of experience in this field.

We use a lot of / lots of instead. 
In fact, when in doubt you can use a lot of / lots of in all circumstances, with plural or uncountable nouns:

I don’t have a lot of days off from work.

I don’t have a lot of work to do today.

There are lots of people waiting for you outside.

We tend to use how + much / many in questions:

How much money have you got?

How many stocks did you buy?

To know what something costs, what its price is, we ask:

How much is it? Or How much does it cost?

It’s not necessary to add the noun money, because we can also use much, many, a lot and lots as pronouns: 
How many (people) are coming? Not many.

I don’t have very much… That’s a lot!

Or more after much, many, a lot or lots: 
A lot more people than I invited came to the party.
Don't worry, there are many more fish in the sea.
There's much more noise inside than outside.


We can even use much before comparative adjectives.

I have a much better idea.

This bed is much more comfortable than ours.

And this pillow is much softer too.

To say there is more than we wanted, we add too before much or many:

I added too much salt to this dish.
I have heard that excuse too many times.


We also add very much or a lot at the end of a phrase, after the object to add emphasis:
I liked the movie very much!  I liked the movie a lot!

A lot can also be used to mean often: I go to the movies a lot.


So was that too much information at once?!