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so much and so many

The difference​

The difference between so much and so many is the same as between much and many (see here). So much is used with singular (uncountable) nouns; so many is used with plurals.

  • I had never seen so much food in my life.
  • She had so many children that she didn’t know what to do. (not … so much children …)

We use so, not so much, to modify adjectives and adverbs (see here).

  • You’re so beautiful. (not You’re so much beautiful.)

But so much is used before comparatives (see here).

  • She’s so much more beautiful now.

so much/many without a noun​

We can drop a noun after so much/many, if the meaning is clear.

  • I can’t eat all that meat – there’s so much!
  • I was expecting a few phone calls, but not so many.

so much as an adverb​

So much can be used as an adverb.

  • I wish you didn’t smoke so much.

Special structures with so much​

We can use not so much … as or not so much … but to make corrections and clarifications.

  • It wasn’t so much his appearance I liked as his personality.
  • It’s not so much that I don’t want to go, but I just haven’t got time.

In negative and if-clauses, so much as can be used to mean ‘even’.

  • He didn’t so much as say thank you, after all we’d done for him.
  • If he so much as looks at another woman, I’ll kill him.