Many 是個大家所熟知的字,當形容詞時意為「(可數名詞) 多的,許多的,很多的」,通常用於否定句和疑問句。例如:
- How many sisters do you have? (你有幾個姊妹?)
- I don’t have many relatives. (我的親戚不多)
Many 的前面可以加上 not 來表示 few (極少的) 的意思。例如:
- Not many students (or Few students) like exams. (喜歡考試的學生寥寥無幾)
- Not many people (or Few people) came to the meeting. (與會者不多)
所以,在肯定句中,many 鮮少單獨用在名詞之前。例如:
- There are a lot of books on the desk. (書桌上有許多書) (正)
- There are many books on the desk. (誤)