我們再來看一段對話將a lot of/lots of 使用於肯定句、否定句及問句中的對話:

A: Do you have a lot of free time? 你有很多空閒時間嗎? B: No, I don’t have a lot of free time. 沒有，我沒有很多空閒時間。 A: Do you do a lot of exercise? 你做很多運動嗎? B: Well, I try to exercise at least thirty minutes a day. 我盡可能至少一天運動三十分鐘。 A: Are there lots of books in your home? 你家有很多書嗎? B: Yes, there are a lot of books in my bedroom because I like to read very much. 有，在我的房間有很多書因為我非常喜歡閱讀。

簡單來說，在非正式情境中a lot of/lots of是個非常好用的數量詞，因為它可以用在所有的肯定句、否定句、及問句中；而在正式情境中，通常會偏好使用much, many, a large number of, a great deal of, a large amount of 來表達「許多」的意思。

* 小提醒: a large number of 與可數名詞複數型連用，a great deal of, a large amount of 與不可數名詞連用 例句: Research indicates that a large number of college students are unable to get up early. 研究指出許多大學生沒辦法早起。 A report shows that most Taiwanese students spend a great deal of time studying English every day. 一份報告顯示大部分的台灣學生每天花很多時間學習英文。 A recent survey showed that the Chinese drank a large amount of tea. 最近一份調查顯示中國人喝大量的茶

雖說在非正式情境中much, many多用於疑問句與否定句中，但與so, as, too搭配連用 (so much, so many; as much, as many; too much, too many) 於肯定句中是非常常見且自然的講法，例句如下:

He has so much money that he can buy ten mansions in Taipei. 他有如此多的錢多到可以在台北買十棟豪宅。

Sue has got so many reading assignments in the last few days that she can’t possibly finish all of them by this weekend. 她在過去這幾天被指派了如此之多的閱讀功課以至於她不太可能在周末前全數完成。

A stray cat usually eats as much as he/she can. 流浪貓通常都是盡可能地吃。

I’m going to make a big cake. I need as many eggs as possible. 我將要做一個大蛋糕，我需要儘可能多的蛋。

Cathy made so many mistakes at work that she got laid off. Cathy在工作上犯了如此多的錯誤以至於她被解雇了。

I think I’ve eaten too much. Now I feel a bit uncomfortable. 我吃太多了，現在覺得有點不太舒服。

That mother felt annoyed because the little boy asked too many questions. 那位媽媽覺得不耐煩因為那個小男孩問太多問題了。

much這個字也可以當副詞用，大家最熟悉的「非常謝謝你！」英文就是Thank you very much. 我非常喜歡______. 英文是I like______ very much. 例如: I like your new book very much. 我非常喜歡你的新書。I like your new hat very much. 我非常喜歡你的新帽子。這邊very much就是副詞的詞性並常使用於肯定句。

much當副詞用時也可用於否定句及問句中，例如: Most people don’t travel much nowadays because of the pandemic. 現今大部分的人不太旅行因為全球的大流行病。

Do you exercise much on weekdays? 工作日你常運動嗎?

我們也常用much來修飾比較級的形容詞及副詞，可用於肯定句、否定句及問句之中，例如:

1.Much修飾比較級形容詞 Her house is much bigger than mine. 她的房子比我的要大很多。

Learning Japanese is much more difficult than learning English. 學日文比學英文要困難許多。

After drinking a cup of tea, I’m feeling much better. 在喝了一杯茶之後，我覺得好很多了。

2.Much 修飾比較級副詞 My teacher reads much faster than I do. 我的老師閱讀速度比我快很多。

After an accident, Anna rides her scooter much more carefully than she used to. 在一場車禍之後，Anna現在騎機車比以前小心許多。

*小提醒:修飾形容詞及副詞的原級(原級就是指該字形容詞或副詞原本的樣子)我們會用very 例如:

She is very beautiful. 她很漂亮 Anna rides her scooter very carefully. Anna 騎機車非常小心

但如果是比較級型態的形容詞及副詞，則不可使用very來修飾，會用much, far, a lot, lots, any, no, rather, a little, a bit, even等字來修飾(此一概念在比較級的文章中詳細說明)。

Much, many, a lot of是常用於日常生活中及正式情境中的字詞，希望在閱讀本篇文章之後，除了多數讀者本就知道的概念之外(much只能與不可數名詞連用，many只能與可數名詞的複數型連用，a lot of/lots of 可接可數名詞或不可數名詞都可以) ，能對這三個字詞的延伸用法及在正式與非正式情境中句型的用法能有更精準的掌握: 日常對話中much, many 多用於問句及否定句中; much, many用於肯定句比較常見於正式情境; a lot of/lots of 是非正式的詞語， 可以使用在所有的肯定句、否定句、及問句，希望本篇文章能幫助讀者表達出來的英文句子是更像母語人士所會說的。

參考書目:

Azar, Betty Schrampfer. Basic English Grammar.4th ed. New York: Pearson Education, 2014.

Azar, Betty Schrampfer. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson Education, 1999.

Hewings, Martin. Advanced Grammar in Use. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage.3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005.