From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmuchmuch1 /mʌtʃ/ ●●● S1 W1 adverb 1 LOT/LARGE NUMBER OR AMOUNTby a great amountmuch better/greater/easier etc Henry’s room is much bigger than mine. These shoes are much more comfortable. I’m feeling very much better, thank you.much too big/old etc He was driving much too fast.much the best/most interesting etc British English It’s much the best way to do it.USAGE: Much• The adverb much is mainly used before comparative adjectives or adjectives with 'too': He’s much older than she is.The soup was much too salty.• It is not usually used before other adjectives, but much can be used before different, especially in negatives and questions: It's not much different from when I was young. 2 a) used to ask or talk about the degree of a differencehow much older/smaller etc She kept weighing herself to see how much heavier she was getting. b) used to ask or talk about how big an additional amount of something ishow much more/longer/further How much longer do we have to wait? How much further is it? c) used to emphasize the difference you are mentioninghow much better/nicer/easier etc I was surprised to see how much better she was looking. How much better life would be if we returned to the values of the past!3 LOT/LARGE NUMBER OR AMOUNTused to talk about a strong feeling or something that is done oftenhow/however much You know how much I care about you. I think you have to accept the pain, however much it hurts. He talks too much. We’re looking forward to your visit so much. Thank you very much!much loved/admired/discussed etc The money will buy much needed books for the school.4 → not ... much5 → much like something/much as6 → much to somebody’s surprise/embarrassment etc7 → much less8 → much as9 → not so much ... as ... → so much the better at better3(4)
Examples from the Corpus
much• "Did you enjoy the show?" "Not much."• Has he changed much?• I haven't thought much about it.• Do you talk to Leslie much anymore?• She's feeling much better now.• You get a much better view if you stand on a chair.• It was much easier doing the letter on the computer.• When the headlights flashed, it barely blinked, much less moved.• What sticks in the brain, and occasionally the heart, is something much less tangible.• Mrs. Clausen was much loved and will be sadly missed.• These shoes are much more comfortable.• His family is much more important to him than his career.• Wayne looked much older than the last time I saw him.• We should pay more attention to those millions of elderly pensioners than to the much smaller number of millionaires.• The test was much too difficult for most of the students.• You're working much too hard, and you're letting the boss take advantage of you.• The damage done can be much worse than from a fire - while the chances of it happening are much higher.much better/greater/easier etc• If a claim is lost in court, the pain, loss and damage suffered by the haulier is obviously much greater.• To that extent, the workplace will be much better.• He was getting better every day, so much better, and yet business got worse and worse.• But things were much better now.• This rate of turnover is much greater than for other areas of the vocabulary of a language. 3.• This system allows me to communicate much better than I could before.• He has summed up the issue much better than I could.• The beautiful lion fish belongs to this gaudy category and is therefore much easier to avoid.how much older/smaller etc• Older than Aunt Margaret, that was certain - far older, but how much older?• It never ceased to amaze her how much smaller everything seemed to her now adult eyes.• Rachel hadn't seen Irene Markham for five years but she was shocked by how much older she looked.how/however much• It comes as a bit of a shock to see how much faster others can sail upwind.• The best solution is for a pamphleteer to show people how much fun it is to do good.• It has not disclosed how much it thought these brands were worth.• I realize how much of her strength came from those evenings alone in that ancient book.• Even Alfred appreciated how much she helped.• The output was a bar graph to show how much the new input resembled each of the ten people.• He also wants to restrict how much time inmates can shave off their sentences for good behavior or working in prison.muchmuch2 ●●● S1 W1 determiner, pronoun 1 LOT/LARGE NUMBER OR AMOUNTa large amount of something I don’t have much money with me. Was there much traffic? He didn’t say much about his trip. Do you get much chance to travel in your job? After much consideration we have finally arrived at a decision.much of Much of the city was destroyed in the attack.(far/rather/a little) too much There was too much work for one person. It would cost far too much to have the thing repaired. It was such a small thing to have caused so much trouble.2 → how much3 → as much4 → as much as 10/100 etc5 NOTused in negative expressions to say that something is not important, interesting, good etcnot/nothing much ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Oh, not much, really.’ There’s nothing much we can do to help. I don’t think much of that idea (=I do not think it is good). The car may not be much to look at (=it does not look good) but it’s very reliable. It’s the best book he’s written, but that’s not saying much (=none of his books is very good).6 → not be much of a something7 → be too much for somebody8 → not be up to much9 → there is not much in it10 → think/say etc as much11 → it was as much as somebody could do to do something12 → not/without so much as something13 → so much for something14 → I’ll say this/that much for somebody/something15 → as much again16 → be a bit much/be too much17 → make much of somebody/somethingGrammar• Much is mainly used in questions and negative sentences, or after too or so: Was there much snow?There’s not much time left.You’ve used too much soap.• Much sounds very formal in positive statements. It is usually better to say a lot of: There was a lot of food left. ✗Don’t say: There was much food left.• You use much before uncountable nouns: I don’t have much money.• You use many before plural nouns: There are too many advertisements on TV. ✗Don’t say: There are too much advertisements on TV. Examples from the Corpus
much of• The storm will bring rain to much of the state.not/nothing much• "Anything happening?" "Not much."• The slope in figure 10.6 is not much changed after polishing, so the technique is illustrated in exercise 10.1.• He was not much closer to Belafonte, whose alter ego he played in the show.• If he's a skilled boardroom apparatchik, they say he's not much cop as a coach.• She and I have worked together before, and it is not much fun.• There was nothing much I could do to help.• The embalmer was John Sheldon, a recently qualified surgeon not much older than Miss Johnson herself.• Whales and hippos may not much resemble each other nowadays, but retain some hints of kinship.• There was nothing much to say to that, and nobody did. 