Expressing quantity in Spanish

👉 How to express quantity in Spanish?

– Useful phrases and expressions –

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1. Adjectives of quantity

In Spanish, adjectives agree with the noun they qualify.

List of adjectives used to express quantity (singular / plural) :

MASCULINE : Mucho / Muchos
FEMININE : Mucha / Muchas

MASCULINE : Poco / Pocos
FEMININE : Poca / Pocas

MASCULINE : Demasiado / Demasiados
FEMININE : Demasiada / Demasiadas

MASCULINE : Bastante / Bastante
FEMININE : Bastante / Bastantes

Examples :

– We ate very little sugar ==> Comimos poco azúcar.
– There is too much cream in this cake ==> Hay demasiada nata en este pastel.
– There are too many people in this town ==> Hay demasiado gente en esta cuidad.

– There is enough to drink for everyone ==> Hay bastante bebidas para todos.

2. Adverbs

Adverbs, unlike adjectives, are always invariable.

List of the most commonly used adverbs to express quantity:

Mucho ==> Many
Poco ==> A little
Bastante ==> Enough
Demasiado / Harto ==> Too much
Muy ==> Very much
Más ==> More
Menos ==> Less
Tan… como ==> If, too
Tanto ==> As much
Algo ==> A little
Apenas ==> Barely
Medio ==> Half
Nada ==> Not at all, nothing
Cuan, Cuanto ==> How much

Examples :

El tema de la película te interesa mucho ==> The theme of the film interests me a lot.
Hemos visto poco sol esos últimos días ==> We haven’t seen much sunshine in the last few days.
Él juega bastante bien al tenis ==> He plays tennis quite well.
Estoy demasiado cansado para hacer deporte ==> I’m too tired to play sports
– Es una pintura muy interesante ==> This painting is very interesting.
Mi vecina es más agradable que mi vecino ==> My (female) neighbor is nicer than my (male) neighbor.
Compré menos frutas que la última vez ==> I bought less fruit than last time.
La prevención es tan importante como la represión ==> Prevention is as important as punishment.
No quiero tanto azúcar en elcafé ==> I don’t want so much sugar in the coffee.
Juan sabe algo de francés ==> Juan speaks a little French.
Hace apenas una semana fui a Francia ==> I’ve only been in France for a week.
Compré media piña en el supermercado ==> I bought half a pineapple at the supermarket.
No hay nada que ver ==> There is nothing to see
No sabes cuan alto es ==> You don’t know how big it is

3. Adverbial phrases

An adverbial phrase is a sequence of words that is equivalent to an adverb. Like the latter, it is invariable.

The most common locutions to express quantity are :

Cada vez más ==> More and more
Cada vez menos ==> Less and less
Cuando más / A lo sumo ==> At most
Cuando menos / A lo menos ==> At the very least
Más o menos ==> More or less
Poco a poco ==> Little by little
Poquito a poquito ==> Little by little
Al por mayor ==> Roughly
Al por menor ==> In detail

Examples :

– El calor se siente cada vez más ==> The heat is felt more and more
– El jefe nos pidió un resumen al por mayor de la situación actual ==> The boss asked us for an outline of the current situation.
– Estoy más o menos atento ==> I am more or less attentive
A lo sumo me puede hacer un descuento de diez euros ==> He can give me a discount of 10 euros maximum

4. Particular turns of phrase

* When Medio precedes an adjective or a past participle, it remains invariable in Spanish.

  • Esta chica es medio loca ==> This girl is half crazy.

* When Más or Menos are followed by a numeral that expresses quantity, the preposition “de” is used.

  • No quiere menos de veinte dólares ==> he doesn’t want less than twenty dollars.

* The expression “CAN’T STAND” ==> To translate this expression, the following structure is used:  Ya no + verb + más + noun

  • Ya no suporto más el calor ==> I can’t stand the heat anymore.

* “NO MORE” in elliptical sentences : here, “No more…” translates into “No más…” or “Nada de…”

  • No more lies! ==> ¡ No más mentiras ! // No racism! ==> ¡ Nada de racismo !

 

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