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Image A, B and C is having a conversation. There can be 4 scenes:
A: Don't put too many balls in the box. B: How many is/are too many?
A: Don't put too many balls in the box. B: How many balls is/are too many?
C: How many is/are not important. Have it your own way.
C: How many balls is/are not important. Have it your own way.
Should I use "is" or "are" in these "how many..." sentences?
In 1 and 2, the question is asking for a number: how many replaces a number, so the verb is are (plural). (Yes, even if the answer turns out to be 1, the question is still plural!)
3 and 4 are not about the number, but about the question "how many" - you could replace "how many" by "the question of how many", which is singular. So they need is.
In (2) "Many" is an adjective (to balls), a quantity determiner. So, the question has to be in plural.
In (3) and (4) The stress is on the "question of how many" and not the number of balls. So, it has to be in singular.
About (1): I have come across so many examples, where people simply use a singular verb like "How many is too many?" when the noun is not part of the sentence. I am not sure how to explain or justify it. I guess, when the noun is not explicitly present in the sentence after many, singular verb is allowed.
