many

man|y [ `meni ] (comparative more [ mɔr ] ; superlative most [ moust ] ) function word, quantifier ***

Many can be used in the following ways:

as a determiner (followed by a plural noun):

It happened many years ago.

How many children do you have?

as a pronoun:

Did he write any other books? Not many. (followed by of ):

Many of you will be going on to college.

as a predeterminer (followed by the indefinite article a and a singular noun):

We've played many a round of golf together.

as an adjective (after a word such as the, his, or these, and followed by a noun):

He said goodbye to his many friends.

as a noun in the phrase the many:

The few who behave badly spoil the enjoyment of the many.

1. ) a large number of people, things, places, etc.:

Did you get many responses to your advertisement?

I hadn't told many people I was pregnant.

I've been to their house many times.

In many cases workers were being employed without a written contract.

Dervla Murphy's latest book describes her many adventures in Nepal.

The news will bring joy to many.

many of: Many of the world's leading doctors have been trained here at the medical center.

too many: There are too many rules and regulations.

not very many (=only a few): Not very many companies can afford the high cost of introducing new technology.

many a (=more than a few): No doubt she had many a tale to tell of the old days.

so many: The scientists have been proven wrong so many times that people no longer believe them.

a good many (=a fairly large number): We've lived here for a good many years.

many many/a great many (=a very large number): It all happened many many years ago.

He was asked a great many questions and answered them all.

many hundreds/thousands/millions: Many thousands of animals died in the floods.

a ) the many the majority of people:

I don't see why the many should suffer because of the few idiots who cause trouble.

b ) as many...(as) a number equal to a particular number of people, things, etc.:

many as: Jason has a lot of friends, but I think I have as many as him.

as many something as: They try to interview as many candidates as possible.

half/twice/three times etc. as many: This year we had twice as many visitors as in previous years.

c ) as many as used before a number for showing how large and surprising it is:

As many as 500,000 people may have become infected with the virus.

d ) how many used for asking or talking about the number of people, things, etc. that there are:

How many students are taking the test?

It's surprising how many different varieties of pasta there are.

many of: How many of you can remember the first Alfred Hitchcock film you saw?

in as many days/weeks/games etc.

in the same number of days, weeks, games, etc.:

Last season Carlos scored twelve goals in as many games.

many's the time/day etc. (that)

used for saying that something has happened often in the past:

Many's the night I've walked back late from town.

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