Much / A lot / Not at all

Conversation 1

Man: Do you watch much TV?
Woman: Not anymore. I used to watch a lot of TV but not now. And you?
Man: Yeah, I watch a lot of TV.
Woman: What do you watch?
Man: I watch a lot of dramas and some news shows.
Woman: I don’t watch the news much, but maybe I should.

Conversation 2

Man: Do you exercise much?
Woman: Not that much but some.
Man: What do you do?
Woman: I go running a lot. What about you?
Man: I don’t exercise at all.
Woman: That’s too bad. It can be fun!

Conversation 3

Man: Do you eat much fast food?
Woman: Yeah, I eat it way too much!
Man: Ooh, that’s not good. You should not eat it too much.
Woman: I know, but I do it to save time. Plus, I don’t cook much.
Man: Me too, but I try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.
Woman: Good idea.

Conversation 4

Man: Do speak Spanish much?
Woman: Yeah, I speak it a lot at work.
Man: That must be nice.
Woman: What about you?
Man: Not that much. People do not use it much at my work.
Woman: That’s too bad!

Grammar Focus

Notice how we use the following adverbs after verbs to show how much we do an activity.

verb + much (intransitive)

(Q) Do you cook much?
(A) I cook a lot. (often)
(N) I do not cook much.

verb + much (transitive)

(Q) Do you watch TV much?
(A) I watch a lot of TV.
(N) I do not watch TV much.

verb + a lot (intransitive)

(Q) Do you exercise a lot?
(A) I work out a lot.
(N) I don’t work out a lot.

verb + a lot (transitive)

(Q) Do you eat a lot of salad?
(A) I eat it a lot.
(N) I don’t eat it a lot.

A lot of + noun

(Q) Do you eat a lot of vegetables?
(A) I eat a lot of vegetables.
(N) I don’t eat a lot of vegetables.

much + noun

(Q) Do you drink much wine?
(A) I drink a lot of wine.
(N) I don’t drink much wine.

at all - When we want to emphasize we do not want to do something, we use at all to show this.

(Q) Do you drive at all?
(A) ------ x --------
(N) I don’t drive at all.

Short Answers

(Q) Do you cook much?
(A) Yes, a lot.
(N) No, not much.
(N) No, not at all.