Children are bothmine. Both my children

are boys.

Both of themagreed that the matter had better be dropped.

They bothaccepted the invitation. They have bothbeen

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. Muchof his life was lived inside himself.

"I don't suppose you had muchto eat all day," said my mother.You haven't much timeif 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.

Manyof them were

holiday-makers.

"I'm marking the children's compositions." "Have you many•

left?"

I haven't manyfriends now. You haven't

made manymistakes 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 muchadvice to give him.

I did not meet manyEnglish people who could speak foreign

languages.

Did you have muchrain on your holidays? Do you know many

people in London? I doubt whether there'll be muchtime for

seeing the sights.

The train leaves at six o'clock. I wonder if

manypeople 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 ofwork to do.

I know plenty ofboys in other schools had achieved the same

results as I had.

She knows lots ofgirls who go out dancing every Saturday.

He has done a great deal ofresearch on the subject. A large

number ofpeople were gathered at the cafe. My mother's

family had been different in a good manyways

from my father's. A great manymistakes 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. Muchdepends on what answer he will give. Muchof what he

says is true. Manythink that the situation will improve.

Muchtime would be saved if you planned your work properly.

Manypeople 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 muchtrouble.

There are too manymistakes in your exercises.

You can have as muchfruit as you want.

c) when much is used alone as a noun pronoun in the function

of an object,

e.g. My mother meant muchto me.

I would give muchto 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 ofnews. When can we talk?

Much and many change for degrees of comparison. They are

more and most.

e.g. He made moreprogress than I had expected.

I found moreletters lying on his table that morning.

He knew moreabout me than I thought.

Mostwork was done in my father's office.

Mostpeople hold the same opinion as you do.

The mostI can do for you is to give you a letter of recommendation.

Mostof his money came from selling his landscapes.

Mostof the delegates voted against the proposal.

Mostof 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. Littlewas known of his life when he was alive.

My story was a record of hard work and littleadventure.

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 littlewater.

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 littlemoney and can live quite comfortably on it.

I suggested that he should get a few grapes and some bread.

Compare:

e.g. I know littleabout painting. (= almost nothing) I know a

littleabout painting. (= something) There is littlechange in

his appearance. (= almost no change) There is a littlechange

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 leasttrouble.

There were fewerpeople in the bus today.

Who has made the fewestmistakes?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.

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) Whomdid you see there?

Whomdoes he suspect? b) To whomdid you

give the message? Of whomare you

thinking? By whomwas 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

the«sentence.

e.g. Who did you see there? Who does he

suspect? Who did you give the message

to? Whoare you thinking of? Whowas

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. Whoseroom is it going to be?

Whoseis the room going to be?

In whosecar do you prefer to go? (Whosecar 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'sthis?

Whatare those strange objects in the distance?

Whatis his telephone number?Whatis your name? Whatdo you

mean? About whatare 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.