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Spanish · A1 · Grammar

Expressions of quantity: mucho, poco, bastante and muy

You already know the words mucho (a lot, much), poco (little, not much), bastante (quite, quite a lot) and muy (very) from the topic "Common Adverbs". Here you learn when they change and when they don't. The rule of thumb: only before a do mucho, poco and bastante agree. With a verb and before an adjective they always stay the same.

Before a : mucho and poco agree

Before a , mucho and poco agree in and number – like an adjective ending in -o: mucho tiempo, mucha gente, muchos amigos, muchas casas; poco dinero, poca fruta, pocos libros, pocas personas.

Look at the , not at the meaning: la gente is and , so it's mucha gente. el agua is too, so Bebo mucha agua.

bastante and bastantes

bastante has no separate form in -a. Before a it only changes for number: bastante dinero, bastante fruta, but bastantes libros, bastantes personas.

With a verb: always the same

With a verb, mucho, poco and bastante say how much someone does something. Then they never change – no matter who is doing it: Trabajo mucho. Mis amigas trabajan mucho. Duermo poco. Estudiamos bastante.

Before an adjective: muy, poco, bastante

Before an adjective, muy, poco and bastante show how strong something is. Here, too, they never change; only the adjective agrees: La casa es muy bonita. Las clases son bastante fáciles. Before an adjective, poco means "not very": La película es poco interesante. (The film isn't very interesting.)

muy or mucho?

muy only goes before an adjective or adverb: muy grande, muy bien, muy cerca. mucho goes with a verb or before a : Trabajo mucho. Tengo muchos amigos. That's why "mucho grande" is wrong, and after a verb at the end of a sentence you never use muy on its own: not "Trabajo muy.", but Trabajo mucho.

Examples

  • Tengo muchos amigos.
  • Bebo mucha agua.
  • Como bastante fruta.
  • Trabajo mucho.
  • Es muy fácil.

Exercises

A1GrammarExpressions of quantity

Exercise 1 of 7

What does the quantity word go with?

Sort each phrase into the right group.

Does the quantity word come before a noun, with a verb or before an adjective?

muchos amigos
trabajo mucho
muy grande
poca fruta
duermo poco
bastante fácil
bastantes libros
estudiamos bastante
poco interesante
mucha gente

before a noun

with a verb

before an adjective

Here the quantity word always comes before a noun. Look closely at each noun: is it masculine or feminine, singular or plural? And remember: bastante has no form in -a.

A1GrammarExpressions of quantity

Exercise 2 of 7

A lot or a little?

Choose the correct form for each sentence.

Tengo amigos en Madrid.
Hoy hay gente en la calle.
Tengo tiempo.
En mi calle hay tiendas.
Mi hermano tiene libros.
No tengo dinero.

Now the quantity word comes with a verb or before an adjective. Don't let the subject or the adjective fool you: there is no agreement here.

A1GrammarExpressions of quantity

Exercise 3 of 7

Here nothing changes

Choose the correct form for each sentence.

Mis amigas estudian .
Las clases son interesantes.
La película es interesante. No me gusta.
Mis hijos duermen .
La casa es grande.
A1GrammarExpressions of quantity

Exercise 4 of 7

muy or mucho?

Choose the correct sentence.

How do you say: "The flat is very big, and I like it a lot."?

Now without options: you decide yourself between muy and mucho – and, for mucho, on the right ending too. Each time, ask yourself: what follows – an adjective, a noun or nothing at all?

A1GrammarExpressions of quantity

Exercise 5 of 7

muy or mucho – written yourself

Write muy or the correct form of mucho.

En la fiesta hay personas.
Mis padres trabajan .
La playa está cerca.
No tengo tiempo.
El español es bonito.
En verano hace calor.
A1GrammarExpressions of quantity

Exercise 6 of 7

Listen carefully

Listen to the sentence and choose the word you hear.

Which form is in the sentence?

0 / 6

A1GrammarExpressions of quantity

Exercise 7 of 7

Is the sentence correct?

Correct the sentence.

Mis amigas son mucho simpáticas.

Well done! Remember: before a noun, mucho and poco agree (-o, -a, -os, -as), and bastante only in the plural (bastantes). With a verb and before an adjective they stay the same. And before an adjective it's muy; with a verb it's mucho.