英語中常見的標準的用來表示數量的詞是 many 和 much，除此之外還有很多其他的詞或短語；用什麼樣的詞或短語取決於要修飾的名詞是可數名詞還是不可數名詞，還取決於是句子是肯定句還是否定句。
一、many 和 much 用於否定句和疑問句中，在更正式的場合中，可用於肯定句
many 修飾可數名詞，例如：
Were there many children at the party?
聚會上有很多孩子嗎？
I don’t have many relatives. We’re a small family.
我沒有多少親戚。我們是一個小家庭。
Many of my friends live in New York.
我的許多朋友住在紐約。
much 修飾不可數名詞，例如：
There is much interest in learning English around the world.
世界各地對學習英語很感興趣。
Howmuch money do you have?
你有多少錢？
There isn't much butter left in the refrigerator.
冰箱裡的黃油不多了。
二、a lot of、lots of 和 plenty of 三者用於非正式場合，它們既可以修飾可數名詞，也可以修飾不可數名詞
a lot of/lots of，前者比後者更正式，例如：
There is a lot ofwater in that jar.
那個罐子裡有很多水。
He's got lots of friends in London.
他在倫敦有很多朋友。
plenty of 相當於 enough，例如：
There were plenty of servants to wait on her.
有很多僕人服侍她。
He had plenty of time to catch his plane.
他有足夠的時間趕飛機。
三、a little 和 a few
a little 修飾不可數名詞，例如：
There is a little wine in that bottle.
那個瓶子裡有一點酒。
There is a little sugar in my coffee.
我的咖啡裡有一點糖。
a few 修飾可數名詞，例如：
He has a few friends in New York.
他在紐約有幾個朋友。
We bought a few sandwiches on our way to the park.
我們在去公園的路上買了一些三明治。
四、little 和 few
little 修飾不可數名詞，例如：
I have little money to spend.
我沒錢花。
She found little time for work.
她幾乎沒有時間工作。
few 修飾可數名詞，例如：
He has few students in his class.
他班上幾乎沒有學生。
Jack finds few reasons to stay.
傑克沒有什麼理由留下來。
五、some 和 any
some 修飾可數和不可數名詞，常用於肯定句中，例如：
We have some friends who work in Los Angeles.
我們有一些在洛杉磯工作的朋友。
I've saved some money to spend on vacation this summer.
今年夏天我攢了一些錢去度假。
any 修飾可數和不可數名詞，常用於否定句和疑問句中，例如：
Do you have any friends in San Francisco?
你在舊金山有朋友嗎？
Is there any pasta left?
還有義大利麵嗎？
We won't have any time for shopping today.
今天我們沒有時間購物。
They didn't have any problems finding our house.
他們找我們的房子沒什麼問題。
some 也可用在疑問句中，預料會得到肯定的回答或是提出請求，例如：
Would you like some shrimp?
你想要些蝦嗎？
Would you lend me some money?
你能借給我一些錢嗎？
六、enough 和 not enough
enough 修飾可數和不可數名詞，相當於 plenty of，例如：
She has enough time to visit her friends in Dallas.
她有足夠的時間去看望達拉斯的朋友。
I think we have enough hamburgers for tomorrow's grill.
我想我們有足夠的漢堡包明天燒烤。
I'm afraid there's not enough time to continue this conversation.
恐怕沒有足夠的時間繼續這次談話。
There are not enough people working at the moment.
目前沒有足夠的人工作。
七、each 和 every 修飾可數名詞，後面跟單數可數名詞
each 例如：
I think every person in this room would agree with me.
我想在座的每個人都會同意我的意見。
every 例如：
I'm sure each step of this process is important.
我相信這個過程的每一步都很重要。
八、large/big/vast/huge amount of 表示數量巨大
There is a huge amount of work to be done to today.
今天有大量的工作要做。
Tom has a vast amount of knowledge about the subject.
湯姆對這門學科有大量的知識。
九、tiny/small/minuscule amount of 表示數量很少
Peter has a small amount of patience, so don't joke around with him.
彼得有點耐心，所以不要跟他開玩笑。
There is a minuscule amount of time left to register. Hurry up!
還有很短的時間可以登記。快點！