Many a NOUN – English Grammar Profiler

The idiomatic phrase ‘many a’ or many an’ + a singular noun is a rare formal and literary structure meaning ‘a large number of’.  

C2 point 65 in the category of DETERMINERS and quantity is defined as:

‘many a’ or ‘many an’ + singular noun for emphasis and focus.

*We noticed that this phrase often gets used at the start of sentences.

A search on iWeb corpus for many _at1 _nn:

1 MANY A TIME 3162

  India Times Indian Boy Born With 2 Extra Thumbs Thinks Of Them As Extra Fingers To Play Video Games, Cricket Many a time, life doesn’t seem fair; situations aren’t always favourable, but there are some people who find a silver lining nevertheless.

2 MANY A TIMES 1237 3 MANY A YEAR 1080 4 MANY A MAN 1001 5 MANY A DAY 738 6 MANY A NIGHT 652

7 MANY AN HOUR 456

8 MANY A PERSON 363 9 MANY AN OCCASION 270 10 MANY AN EVENING 212 11 MANY A SUMMER 192 12 MANY A WOMAN 189 13 MANY A CHILD 161 14 MANY A GAME 160 15 MANY A MILE 156 16 MANY A HEART 144 17 MANY A STORY 138 18 MANY A STUDENT 136 19 MANY A FAN 134 20 MANY A FAMILY 128 21 MANY A TEAR 127 22 MANY A MOON 126 23 MANY A PLAYER 118 24 MANY AN AFTERNOON 118 25 MANY A BATTLE 117 26 MANY A THING 112 27 MANY A TALE 105 28 MANY A HOME 101 29 MANY A FRIEND 100 30 MANY A MORNING 95 31 MANY A WEEKEND 94 32 MANY A TRIP 92 33 MANY AN ARTIST 90 34 MANY A BUSINESS 88 35 MANY A MOVIE 87 36 MANY EVERY DAY 86 37 MANY A BOOK 85 38 MANY A MEAL 85 39 MANY A SOUL 85 40 MANY A CELEBRITY 83 41 MANY A CHRISTMAS 83 42 MANY A SLIP 82 43 MANY A VISITOR 82 44 MANY A CONVERSATION 81 45 MANY A GENERATION 80 46 MANY A PARENT 79 47 MANY A TRAVELER 76 48 MANY A READER 74 49 MANY A MOTHER 73 50 MANY A PEOPLE 73 51 MANY A SHIP 73 52 MANY A JOKE 72 53 MANY A LIFE 71 54 MANY A FILM 69 55 MANY A GIRL 65 56 MANY A MONTH 65 57 MANY A SEASON 62 58 MANY AN OPPORTUNITY 62 59 MANY A TRAVELLER 61 60 MANY A HOLIDAY 60 61 MANY A PROBLEM 60 62 MANY A CASE 59 63 MANY A CHURCH 59 64 MANY A SOLDIER 59 65 MANY A CAR 58 66 MANY A SCHOOL 56 67 MANY AN ARGUMENT 56 68 MANY A LAUGH 55 69 MANY A PAIR 55 70 MANY A TEAM 55 71 MANY A COMPANY 54 72 MANY A HEADACHE 54 73 MANY A DEBATE 53 74 MANY A FIGHT 53 75 MANY A SONG 53 76 MANY A STORM 53 77 MANY A TOURIST 52 78 MANY A WRITER 52 79 MANY AN EYE 52 80 MANY A HEAD 51 81 MANY A STAR 50 82 MANY A CUSTOMER 48 83 MANY A DISCUSSION 47 84 MANY A CAREER 46 85 MANY A DECADE 46 86 MANY A GAMER 46 87 MANY A MARRIAGE 46 88 MANY A MIND 45 89 MANY A PLACE 45 90 MANY A THOUSAND 45 91 MANY A WINTER 45 92 MANY A POST 44 93 MANY A PROJECT 44 94 MANY A COLLEGE 43 95 MANY A HORROR 43 96 MANY A SAILOR 43 97 MANY A USER 43 98 MANY AN ADVENTURE 43 99 MANY AN ARTICLE 43