are boys.
Both of them agreed that the matter had better be dropped.
They both accepted the invitation. They have both been
invited.
32. The pronouns much and many are used as noun pronouns
and as adjective pronouns.
Much means 'a large amount'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
singular verb. As an adjective pronoun, it modifies only uncountable
nouns.
e.g. Much of his life was lived inside himself.
"I don't suppose you had much to eat all day," said my mother.You haven't much time if you want to catch the train.
I hope you haven't brought much luggage.
Many means 'a large number'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
plural verb. As an adjective pronoun, it modifies only countable
nouns in the plural, e.g. There were lots of people on the beach.
Many of them were
holiday-makers.
"I'm marking the children's compositions." "Have you many
left?"
I haven't many friends now. You haven't
made many mistakes this time.
There is a strong tendency in present-day English to use much
and many, particularly when they function as adjective pronouns,
only in interrogative and negative sentences and in object clauses
introduced by if or whether.
e.g. I had not very much advice to give him.
I did not meet many English people who could speak foreign
languages.
Did you have much rain on your holidays? Do you know many
people in London? I doubt whether there'll be much time for
seeing the sights.
The train leaves at six o'clock. I wonder if
many people will come to the party.
Thus He has much time, although apparently correct grammatically,
is hardly ever seen or heard in present-day English. A
lot of, lots of, plenty of, a great deal of, a large number of, a
good many, a great many and the like replace much and many in
affirmative sentences.
e.g. There is a lot of work to do.
I know plenty of boys in other schools had achieved the same
results as I had.
She knows lots of girls who go out dancing every Saturday.
He has done a great deal of research on the subject. A large
number of people were gathered at the cafe. My mother's
family had been different in a good many ways
from my father's. A great many mistakes have been made
by nearly everybody. Much and many can be used in affirmative sentences in the
following cases:
a) when they are used as the subject of the sentence, or modify it,
e.g. Much depends on what answer he will give. Much of what he
says is true. Many think that the situation will improve.
Much time would be saved if you planned your work properly.
Many people like to spend their spare time working in their
gardens.
b) when much and many are modified by adverbs of degree,
e.g. so, too, as and how,
e.g. No, I won't do it. It's too much trouble.
There are too many mistakes in your exercises.
You can have as much fruit as you want.
c) when much is used alone as a noun pronoun in the function
of an object,
e.g. My mother meant much to me.
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I would give much to know what he is thinking now.
Note. Occasionally we find such synonymous expressions of much and many as
a world of, heaps of, oceans of and the like. They are used in colloquial English for
emphasis.
e.g. I have heaps of news. When can we talk?
Much and many change for degrees of comparison. They are
more and most.
e.g. He made more progress than I had expected.
I found more letters lying on his table that morning.
He knew more about me than I thought.
Most work was done in my father's office.
Most people hold the same opinion as you do.
The most I can do for you is to give you a letter of recommendation.
Most of his money came from selling his landscapes.
Most of the delegates voted against the proposal.
Most of his relatives lived in the country.
33. The pronouns little and few are used as noun pronouns
and as adjective pronouns. Little means 'a small amount'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
singular verb. As an adjective pronoun, it is used with uncountable
nouns.
e.g. Little was known of his life when he was alive.
My story was a record of hard work and little adventure.
Few means 'a small number'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
plural verb. As an adjective pronoun, it is used with countable
nouns in the plural.
e.g. Yet few have been found to deny the man's greatness.
Very few decisions were ever taken in that department.
Both little and few have a negative implication they mean
'not enough'.
e.g. The shipwrecked sailors had no food and little water.
Few people would agree with you.
A little and a few, which are to be treated as set phrases, have
a positive meaning. They mean 'some though not much (many)'.
e.g. He earns a little money and can live quite comfortably on it.
I suggested that he should get a few grapes and some bread.
Compare:
e.g. I know little about painting. (= almost nothing) I know a
little about painting. (= something) There is little change in
his appearance. (= almost no change) There is a little change
in his appearance. (= some change) Few birds can be seen in
that place. (= almost none) A few birds can be seen in that
place. (= some birds) He has few friends and lives a lonely
life. (= almost none) He has a few friends who call to see
him quite frequently. (= some friends)
Little and few change for degrees of comparison. Their forms are:
little less least few fewer
fewest
e.g. Please make less noise.
George gives me the least trouble.
There were fewer people in the bus today.
Who has made the fewest mistakes? Reciprocal Pronouns
34. There are two reciprocal pronouns in English: each other
and one another. They show that something is done mutually.
Both pronouns are mainly used in the function of an object (direct,
indirect or prepositional) in the sentence.
e.g. I knew that my two aunts bitterly disliked each other.
They had come to understand one another, Pyke and he,
without anything being said. But he was a little puzzled by
the behaviour of Blanche and
Strickland towards one another.
As is seen from the above examples, both each other and one
another can be used when speaking of two persons. However,
when more than two persons are meant, only one another is usually
used.
e.g. When he entered the cafe he saw the people wink at one another.
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Each other and one another can be used in the genitive case.
e.g. They had not met so long that they had forgotten each other's
names.
In their letters they made it a rule to inquire after one another's
relatives. Interrogative Pronouns
35. The interrogative pronouns are: who (whom), whose,
what, which, how much and how many. They are all used in forming
questions.
36. The pronoun who asks about persons. It does not distinguish
gender or number. It may be masculine or feminine, singular
or plural in meaning. Who is the nominative case and it is
mainly used as the subject of the sentence.
e.g. Who is coming with me?
Who are the people over there?
he objective case of who is whom which is used as an object T
in the sentence. It may be a direct (a) or prepositional object (b).e.g. a) Whom did you see there?
Whom does he suspect? b) To whom did you
give the message? Of whom are you
thinking? By whom was it done?
But whom is the literary form and is preferred in writing. In
conversation it is replaced by who. When who happens to be used as
a prepositional object, the preposition is placed at the end of
thesentence.
e.g. Who did you see there? Who does he
suspect? Who did you give the message
to? Who are you thinking of? Who was
it done by?
Note the idiomatic uses of who in the following sentences:
e.g. It was so dark that I couldn't tell who's who. (= could not
tell one person from the other)
You'll find his name in Who's Who. (= a reference book on
contemporary outstanding people)
37. The pronoun whose is a possessive interrogative pronoun.
It is used as an adjective pronoun, mostly in the function of an
attribute, though occasionally it occurs as a predicative too.
e.g. Whose room is it going to be?
Whose is the room going to be?
In whose car do you prefer to go? (Whose car do you prefer to
go in?)
38. The pronoun what may be used as a noun pronoun and as
an adjective pronoun.
When it serves as a noun, it asks after things. It may be singular
or plural in meaning. It may be used as the subject, a predicative or an
object in the sentence. It has no case forms.
e.g. What's this?
What are those strange objects in the distance?
What is his telephone number? What is your name? What do you
mean? About what are you going to
ask him?
It should be noted that in the case of a prepositional object it
is more usual to place the preposition at the end of the sentence
in present-day English.
