Adverbs of quantity in Spanish (mucho...)
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Sign up for freeAdverbs of quantity (adverbios de cantidad) are used to give information on quantity, number and degree.
They give an answer to questions starting with "how much?" or "to what extent?".
Examples:
- Juan es muy alto. (Juan is very tall.)
- Me gusta mucho la paella valenciana. (I like Valencian paella a lot.)
Lesson outline
HideModifiers
Adverbs of quantity may modify:
- a verb
- an adjective
- an adverb
Since they do not refer to a noun, they do not change according to the gender and number.
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María del Camino F. 
Rodrigo R.
LUIGIA P. 
RONALD M. 
Nadia F. 
Sanela B. 
Sandra V.
María Inmaculada F.
Marie K. 
Julia N.
1. Verb-modifier
| Spanish adverb | English translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| además | besides as well as | Es profesor y además es director de empresa. (He is a professor as well as company manager.) |
| apenas | barely hardly | Apenas se escuchaba su voz. (His voice was barely perceptible.) |
| bastante | enough quite a bit | No estudias bastante. (You do not study enough.) |
| casi | almost | Casi me caigo por la escalera. (I almost fell down the stairs.) |
| demasiado | too much | La madre de Bautista habla demasiado. (Bautista's mother speaks too much.) |
| mucho | a lot | Me gusta mucho tu camiseta de seda. (I like your silk t-shirt a lot.) |
| poco | a little not much | Juan come muy poco, por eso es tan delgado. (Juan eats a little, that is why he is so thin.) |
| sólo | only | Sólo puedo quedarme un rato. (I can only stay a little while.) |
| tanto | so much so long | No puedo esperarte tanto. (I cannot wait for you so long.) |
Placement
Verb-modifiers are usually placed after the verb they refer to.
Example:
Me gusta mucho el helado casero. (I like home-made ice-cream a lot.)
Some of them may be placed before the verb they modify.
Examples:
- Sólo bebo vino tinto. (I only drink red wine.)
- Estaba tan cansado que apenas conseguí llegar a casa. (I was so tired that I barely made it home.)
2. Adjective-modifier
| Spanish adverb | English translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| algo | somewhat slightly | Me siento algo viejo. (I feel somewhat old.) |
| bastante | enough | Encontramos un hotel bastante barato en Málaga. (We found a sufficiently cheap hotel in Malaga.) |
| demasiado | too (much) | Marta es demasiado guapa. (Marta is too beautiful.) |
| más | more the most | Milagros es más inteligente que yo. (Milagros is more intelligent than me.) |
| medio | half | Estoy medio muerta. (I am half-dead.) |
| menos | less the least | Esta película es menos entretenida que ésa. (This movie is less entertaining than that one.) |
| muy | very | Esta novela es muy entretenida. (This novel is very entertaining.) |
| poco | negative meaning to the adjective | Lucas está poco dispuesto a ayudar. (Lucas is disinclined to help.) |
tan | so as so much | Es tan alto que casi toca el techo. (He is so tall that he almost touches the ceiling.) |
Placement
Adjective-modifiers are placed before the adjective they refer to.
Example:
Raquel es muy guapa. (Raquel is very beautiful.)
3. Adverb-modifier
| Spanish adverb | English translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bastante | quite | Marta canta bastante bien. (Marta sings quite well.) |
| demasiado | too | Miguel habla demasiado rápido. (Miguel speaks too fast.) |
| más | more | Pedí al jefe que hablara más despacio. (I asked the boss to speak more slowly.) |
| menos | less | Él camina menos rápido que yo. (He walks less fast than me.) |
| muy | very | Paloma baila muy bien. (Paloma dances very well.) |
| mucho | much | Tu chaqueta de piel es mucho mejor que la de algodón . (Your leather jacket is much better than the cotton one.) |
Placement
Adverb-modifiers are placed before the adverb they refer to.
Example:
Pilar canta muy mal. (Pilar sings very badly.)