Grammar-Quizzes › Clauses › Comparative Clauses › Much More
Much & More
Add to the amount of something
| MORE + NONCOUNT NOUN |
|---|
Use more before a noncount noun to express an additional amount to the previous (earlier) or existing (current) amount. |
People have more knowledge about eating healthier food. |
Consuming more red wine may hold the secret to youth. |
More fiber helps digestion. |
More potassium helps regulate blood pressure. |
| MORE + COUNT NOUN |
|---|
Use more before a count noun to express an additional number of items to the previous (earlier) or existing (current) amount. |
More people are eating healthier food. |
People want to consume more anti-oxidants. |
Eating more vegetables adds fiber to one's diet. |
Eating more bananas adds potassium and vitamin C to your diet. |
Much More / Many More
An even greater amount
Much More / Many More + Noun
| MUCH MORE + NONCOUNT NOUN |
|---|
Use much more before a noncount noun for emphasis on a greater amount. |
People have much more knowledge about eating right. |
People eat much more food than they should. |
How much more fiber does a banana have? |
| MANY MORE + COUNT NOUN |
|---|
Use many more before a count noun for emphasis on a greater number. |
Many more people are eating healthier diets. |
People take in many more calories than they need. |
How many more bananas can the monkey eat? |
Too Much / Too Many
An excessive amount
Too Much / Too Many + Noun
| TOO MUCH + NONCOUNT NOUN |
|---|
Use too much for an unacceptable, excessive amount. Use too (Adv) to modify much, a quantifier to a noncount noun. |
People eat too much fat, sugar and salt. |
Prepared food includes too much packaging. (plastic, boxes, padding) |
The cook put much too much salt in the soup. (much too much is informal) |
I have a little too much garlic in the tomato sauce. |
| TOO MANY + COUNT NOUN |
|---|
Use too many for an unacceptable, excessive amount. Use too (Adv) to modify many, a quantifier to a count noun. |
People eat too many chips, cookies and candy bars. |
Vending machines sell too many high-calorie snacks. |
The cook put far too many beans in the soup. (far too many is informal) |
I have a few too many cloves of garlic in the tomato sauce. |
Note: too (adverb) modifies much (a quantifier or determiner).
cloves of garlic – See Quantifiers for Food – Shape & Part.
Also see: "Too / Enough" + Infin
Much / More + Adjective
A greater quality
Much -ER / Much More + Adjective
| MUCH ADJECTIVE -ER |
|---|
Use much (adv.) to emphasize a comparative adjective, -er. (also: far, rather, a little, a bit, a lot) |
This apple is much better than that one. (good - better) |
This apple is much redder than the other one. (red) |
This apple is a bit heavier than that one. (heavy) |
This apple is far uglier than that one. (ugly) |
| MUCH MORE ADJECTIVE |
|---|
Use much (adv.) to emphasize a comparative adjective, more. (also: far, rather, a little, a bit, a lot) |
This apple is much more beautiful than that one. |
This apple is far more flavorful than the other one. |
This apple is a bit more exceptional than that one. |
This apple is a lot more desirable than that one. |
Note: much (adverb) modifies more (Adv) which modifies beautiful (Adv).
Also see: Comparisons
Synonyms for Much
Other expressions for increasing an amount
Too and Much Too Expressions
| "TOO" EXPRESSIONS |
|---|
Use too before an adjective to express an unacceptable, excessive degree of something. Other words also express a similar meaning: rather, quite, unusually, kind of, really, terribly, awfully. |
| TOO + ADJECTIVE |
Heff is too old for her. Heff is rather old for her. Heff is quite old for her. |
She is too young for him. She is unusually young for him. She is kind of young for him. |
| TOO + ADJECTIVE |
It is really soon to know if the marriage will last. It is terribly soon to know if the marriage will last. It is awfully soon to know if the marriage will last. |
| TOO + ADJECTIVE + NOUN |
He has too much money to be careless. (See Too & Enough) *He has so¹ many girlfriends for the marriage to last. *He has extremely² many girlfriends for the marriage to last. *He has excessively² many girlfriends for the marriage to last. He's too smart a man³ to give his fortune away. (informal speech) |
| TOO + ADJECTIVE iDIOM |
You are too kind. ("very") This expression of praise is an exception. It does not mean "unacceptable". You are too kind to believe. (You are unbelievably kind.) |
| GREATER THAN "TOO" EXPRESSIONS |
|---|
Use much too before an adjective to express a greater excessive degree. Other words are a bit too, rather too, a little too, slightly too, kind of too, far too, way to, far and away too, totally too, competely too. |
| [SOMEWHAT] + TOO + ADJECTIVE |
Heff is a few years too old for her. Heff is a little too old for her. Heff is a bit too old for her. (quite) |
She is slightly too eager to marry him. (expresses suspicion) She is rather too eager to marry him. She is kind of too eager to marry him. |
| [VERY] + TOO + ADJECTIVE |
It is much too soon to know if the marriage will last. It is far too soon to know if the marriage will last. It is way too soon to know if the marriage will last. |
| [VERY] + TOO + ADJECTIVE + NOUN |
He has much too much money to be careless. *He has much too many girlfriends for the marriage to last. He has way too many girlfriends for the marriage to last. He has far too many girlfriends for the marriage to last. He's totally too smart a man to give his fortune away. (informal speech) |
| TOO + ADJECTIVE IDIOM |
You are much too kind. ("very, very") This expression of praise is an exception. It does not mean "unacceptable". You are much too kind to believe. (You are unbelievably kind.) |
*not used / ~borderline usage or usage requiring a special context
Note: much (Adv) modifies too (Adv).
¹ so many (not used in this context). Reword as He has so many girl friends that it is unclear if the marriage will last. See So…that vs. Such…that
² extremely many / excessively many (not used). Reword as He has an excessive number of girl friends. It is unclear if the marriage will last.
³ too smart a man – an expression that uses the article "a". He enough of a man to say he is sorry. He too much a fool to understand his mistake. See Too & Enough.
Pop-Q "Much Too".
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
I want much.
|
She is too much tall. Don't use too (Adv) to modify much when making comparison.
Expression: "She is too much." She has an unusual or overpowering personality. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
I want more in life. The concept "more" is an ideal (undefined, noncount) |
She is much too tall. I have too much olive oil. Use too (Adv) to modify much (a quantity). |
Practice 1
Improvements in Phones
Complete the sentence with a comparative expression.
- Select your response from the list that best completes the sentence.
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Practice 2
Healthcare in the Old West
Read for Errors
Life is much more easier these days. A hundred years ago people had lesser access to medicine. In the Old West (U.S.), there were few big cities, so people lived much farther apart. If a person became sick, a family would have to carry the person a long way to find a doctor. Sometimes, the distance was much too far for the person who was sick.
A great more people died of diseases such as cholera, measles and typhoid. There were also lot fewer healthcare professionals. They didn't have much more training than "word of mouth". A barber or a priest couldn't offer much more than comfort to a sick person. Few people lived to old age, and young people died a way too soon.
access (N) – a way or means to get to something
barber (N) – a professional who shaves faces, cuts hair (and in the past, pulled teeth and gave first aid.)
"Old West" — refers to the early settlers in the western U.S.
word of mouth – information passed from one individual to another
Correct or Incorrect?
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