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)
然而，在正式的上下文中，我們有時可以在肯定句中使用 many 或 many of (many 在此為代名詞) 來代替 a lot of 或 lots of。例如：
- Many teachers are strongly opposed to the pension reform. (許多老師強烈反對年金改革)
- Many of his students have become public servants. (他的許多學生已成為公務員)
－ 如果沒把握能準確地判斷正式或非正式，最保險的作法就是在肯定句中都使用 a lot of 或 lots of。