How much ice-cream would you like?

How many scoops of ice-cream would you like?

We use much when we cannot count the amount of something. Ice-cream cannot be counted so it is given to us in another measurement for example in litres or in scoops.

When ice-cream is given to us in scoops, for example at an ice-cream parlour, we are asked how many scoops we would like because scoops can be counted.

When we buy ice-cream in a carton, we are asked how much we would like, for example 500ml.

This is the same for other food items such as rice, pasta or sugar.

How much rice would you like? How many spoons of rice would you like?

I'd like 1kg of rice. I'd like two spoons.

How much pasta would you like? How many spoons of pasta would you like?

I'd like 500g of pasta. I'd like three spoons.

How much sugar would you like? How many lumps of sugar would you like?

I'd like one teaspoon. I'd like one sugar lump.

This rule also applies to other items such as money, balloons or cheese:

I don't have much money. Money cannot be physically counted as is an abstract amount.

I don't have many coins in my purse. Coins in a purse can be counted easily.

How many balloons do you have for the party? The balloons can be counted.

How much cheese would you like? Cheese cannot easily be counted, but it is served to us by quantity (an amount of cheese) or weight.

Use this quiz to test your knowledge, it's not as complicated as you think:

1 How much books are in the library?

2 How many boxes of chocolates would you like?

3 How much apples would you like?

4 How much people were in the cinema last night?

5 How much flour do you need to bake the cake?

6 How many pasta do you need for the recipe?

7 How many countries are in the European Union?

8 Was there much traffic when you drove to work this morning?

9 Were there many cars in the car park when you arrived?