Spanish Adverbs of Quantity and Degree: Muy, Mucho, Poco and Más

The core system: amount, degree and intensity

Spanish adverbs of quantity at a glance

These adverbs express amount or degree. Some mainly modify verbs, some modify adjectives or adverbs, and some can do both depending on the sentence.

Muy vs mucho

The difference between muy and mucho is one of the most important points in Spanish. Use muy before adjectives and adverbs. Use mucho after verbs when you mean “a lot”.

El curso es muy útil. — The course is very useful.
Ella habla muy bien. — She speaks very well.
Estudio mucho. — I study a lot.
Viajamos mucho. — We travel a lot.

Poco as an adverb

As an adverb, poco can mean “little”, “not much” or “not very”. It can modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.

Trabajo poco los domingos. — I work little / not much on Sundays.
Habla poco. — He/she speaks little.
El texto es poco claro. — The text is not very clear.
Corre poco rápido. — He/she runs not very fast.

As an adverb, poco does not change. Before nouns, however, it can become a quantifier: poco tiempo, poca agua, pocos libros, pocas personas.

Bastante as an adverb

Bastante can mean “quite”, “rather” or “enough”, depending on context. It can modify adjectives, adverbs or verbs.

El ejercicio es bastante difícil. — The exercise is quite difficult.
Habla bastante bien. — He/she speaks quite well.
Duerme bastante. — He/she sleeps enough / quite a lot.
Trabajamos bastante. — We work quite a lot / enough.

When bastante comes before a noun, it can function as a quantifier: bastante tiempo, bastantes personas. Study that use separately with Spanish quantifiers.

Demasiado as an adverb

Demasiado means “too”, “too much” or “excessively”. As an adverb, it is invariable and can modify adjectives, adverbs or verbs.

Es demasiado caro. — It is too expensive.
Habla demasiado rápido. — He/she speaks too fast.
Trabaja demasiado. — He/she works too much.
Comemos demasiado. — We eat too much.

Before nouns, demasiado can agree as a quantifier: demasiado trabajo, demasiada comida, demasiados problemas, demasiadas preguntas.

Más and menos

Más means “more” and menos means “less”. They are important adverbs for comparison and degree.

Learn the full comparison system here: Spanish Comparison.

Tan and tanto

Use tan before adjectives and adverbs. Use tanto after verbs when it means “so much” or “as much”.

Before nouns, tanto agrees as a quantifier: tanto dinero, tanta agua, tantos libros, tantas clases.

Casi and apenas

Casi means “almost”. Apenas means “hardly”, “barely” or “scarcely”. Both express degree, but in opposite directions.

Casi siempre estudio por la mañana. — I almost always study in the morning.
La tarea está casi terminada. — The task is almost finished.
Apenas habla español. — He/she hardly speaks Spanish.
Apenas tenemos tiempo. — We barely have time.

Casi points toward completion or high frequency. Apenas points toward very low quantity, very low frequency or minimal degree.

Algo and nada as degree adverbs

Algo and nada are often known as pronouns, but they can also function adverbially before adjectives or adverbs to express degree.

Estoy algo cansado. — I am somewhat tired.
La explicación es algo confusa. — The explanation is somewhat confusing.
No es nada fácil. — It is not easy at all.
No habla nada bien. — He/she does not speak well at all.

In this use, algo means “somewhat” and nada intensifies negation.

Suficientemente and enough

Suficientemente means “sufficiently” or “enough” in more formal or explicit contexts. In everyday Spanish, shorter patterns such as bastante or lo bastante are also common.

La respuesta es suficientemente clara. — The answer is sufficiently clear.
No habla suficientemente rápido. — He/she does not speak fast enough.
Es bastante claro. — It is clear enough / quite clear.
No estudia lo bastante. — He/she does not study enough.

Suficientemente is useful in careful writing, but it can sound heavier than shorter everyday alternatives.

Adverbs of quantity vs quantifiers

The same Spanish word can often work as an adverb or as a quantifier. The key question is what it modifies. If it modifies a verb, adjective or adverb, it works adverbially. If it introduces a noun, it works as a determiner or quantifier.

Learn noun-based quantity forms here: Spanish Quantifiers.

Position of adverbs of quantity

Adverbs of quantity follow the general position rules for Spanish adverbs. They often go after verbs, but before adjectives and other adverbs.

Learn the full word order system here: Position of Adverbs in Spanish.

Adverbs of quantity in comparison

Several quantity and degree adverbs are central to comparison: más, menos, tan and tanto.

Habla más rápido que yo. — He/she speaks faster than I do.
Trabaja menos que antes. — He/she works less than before.
Es tan difícil como el otro. — It is as difficult as the other one.
Estudia tanto como su hermano. — He/she studies as much as his/her brother.

This is why adverbs of quantity connect directly with: Spanish Comparison.

When to use Spanish adverbs of quantity

Related grammar topics

FAQ: Spanish adverbs of quantity