Numbers and amounts

This rule catches almost every learner once.

After a number, hundred, thousand and million never take an s:

• two hundred people
• five thousand years
• three million pounds

Never two hundreds.

But when you do not give a number, you must add the s and the word of:

• hundreds of people
• thousands of years
• millions of pounds

This means a large but unknown amount. So two hundred people is exact, and hundreds of people is a guess.

many and much

Both mean a large amount. Which one you use depends on the noun.

Many goes with things you can count: many books, many people, many days. Much goes with things you cannot count: much water, much money, much time.

In positive sentences, most people say a lot of instead. "I have a lot of work." Much sounds formal there. But in questions and negatives, much is normal: "How much does it cost?"

few and a few

These look almost the same and mean different things.

A few means some. It is positive. "I have a few friends here." That is good. Few means not many. It is negative. "I have few friends here." That is sad.

One small word changes the whole feeling of the sentence. The same is true of a little and little.

first and last

First and last are not numbers, but they behave like them. They take the: the first day, the last week.

Last has two meanings. Last week can mean the week before now, or the final week of something. Only the sentence around it tells you which.