Quantifying Mass Nouns
To ask "how much?" or say you have "a lot" or "a little" of an uncountable item (like food or liquids), use сколько (how much), много (a lot), or мало (a little).
The noun that follows these quantifiers must be in the Genitive singular.
Asking "How Much"
Use сколько to ask "how much" of an uncountable substance there is. For example, the masculine noun сыр (cheese) takes the Genitive singular form сыра.
| How much cheese do you want? | Сколько сыра вы хотите? |
The neuter noun масло (butter) takes the Genitive singular form масла.
| How much butter are you buying? | Сколько масла ты покупаешь? |
Expressing "A Lot" and "A Little"
Use много (a lot) and мало (a little) in the exact same way.
| I buy little butter, and he buys a lot of cheese. | Я покупаю мало масла, а он покупает много сыра. |
| How much gasoline is in the car? | Сколько бензина в машине? |
| There is little gasoline in the car. | В машине мало бензина. |
Everyday Ingredients
Most words for food and drinks are uncountable mass nouns. As a reminder, to form the Genitive singular:
- Masculine and Neuter nouns usually take -а or -я (рис → риса, мёд → мёда).
- Feminine nouns usually take -ы or -и (мука → муки).
| She always cooks a lot of rice. | Она всегда готовит много риса. |
| How much flour is in the kitchen? | Сколько муки на кухне? |
| They buy a lot of honey and chocolate. | Они покупают много мёда и шоколада. |
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