How Much, How Many, How Often Exercises

How becomes much more useful when you combine it with other words to ask about quantity, frequency, duration, distance, and age. The six most important combinations at this level are: how much (for uncountable things like money, water, and time), how many (for countable things you can number), how often (for frequency — how regularly something happens), how long (for duration — how much time something takes), how far (for distance), and how old (for age).

The most common mistake is mixing up how much and how many. Use 'how much' when you cannot count the noun individually: 'How much milk do we need?' Use 'how many' when you can put a number before the noun: 'How many eggs do we need?' Another frequent error is answering 'how often' with a single time instead of a frequency: 'How often do you exercise?' needs an answer like 'Twice a week' — not 'On Tuesday.' These 'how + word' combinations appear in Cambridge A2 Key and B1 Preliminary examinations.