Adverbs of quantity: "Mucho, poco, bastante,..."

What are adverbs of quantity?

• They tell you how much or how little of something there is.
• In this unit you see:
  • mucho / mucha / muchos / muchas = a lot (of)
  • poco / poca / pocos / pocas = little / few
  • bastante = quite / enough / rather
  • nada = nothing / not … anything
• They can work in two ways:
  • with a verb → as an adverb
  • with a noun → as an adjective of quantity

Step 1 – With verbs: easy form, no change

Here they answer: How much? about the action.

• mucho and poco as adverbs:
  • Form: always mucho / poco (no change).
  • Position: usually after the verb.

• bastante with adjectives and adverbs:
  • Form: always bastante (no change).
  • Position: before the adjective or adverb.

• nada with verbs:
  • Used in a negative sentence.
  • Form: no + verb + nada.

• Quick self-check (verbs only):
  • If it answers How much do I do X? → use mucho, poco, nada, bastante and do not change the form.

Step 2 – With nouns: agree in gender and number

Now they answer: How much? / How many? about a thing (a noun).

• mucho / mucha / muchos / muchas before a noun:
  • mucho + masculine singular noun
  • mucha + feminine singular noun
  • muchos + masculine plural noun
  • muchas + feminine plural noun

• poco / poca / pocos / pocas before a noun:
  • Same pattern: agree with the noun.

• bastante with nouns (A1–A2 note):
  • Often used as invariable at this level: bastante dinero, bastante gente.
  • Later you may also see plural bastantes before plural nouns, but you do not need it yet.

• Quick self-check (nouns):
  1. Find the noun (thing).
     • Example: dinero, leche, clientes, tarjetas.
  2. Ask: singular or plural? masculine or feminine?
  3. Choose the correct form:
     • masc. sing. → mucho / poco
     • fem. sing. → mucha / poca
     • masc. pl. → muchos / pocos
     • fem. pl. → muchas / pocas

Step 3 – Typical mistakes to avoid

• 1. Forgetting agreement with nouns
  • mucha dinero → mucho dinero
  • muchos leche → mucha leche
• 2. Using verb forms with nouns
  • With a verb: Trabajo mucho. (correct)
  • Not: Trabajo muchos. (wrong: verb + plural form)
• 3. Using “nada” without “no”
  • Quiero comprar nada → No quiero comprar nada.
  • Hago nada hoy → No hago nada hoy.
• 4. Changing “bastante” with adjectives
  • El menú es bastantos baratos → El menú es bastante barato.
  • bastante does not change with adjectives.

Step 4 – Fast decision guide

Use this when you speak or write.

1. Look at the word after mucho / poco / bastante / nada:
   • If it is a verb → use mucho / poco / nada (no change).
   • If it is a noun → choose the agreeing form (mucho/a/os/as, poco/a/os/as).
   • If it is an adjective → use bastante (no change).
2. Check if the sentence is negative:
   • For “nothing / not … anything” → use no + verb + nada.

Step 5 – Mini self-test

Cover the right column with your hand or a sheet of paper. Then check.

• If you made a mistake, ask:
  • Is it with a verb, a noun, or an adjective?
  • Did I need agreement or not?
  • Is the sentence negative?

What you should be able to do now

• Use mucho / poco correctly after verbs.
• Make mucho / mucha / muchos / muchas and poco / poca / pocos / pocas agree with nouns.
• Use bastante before adjectives to say “quite / rather / fairly”.
• Make negative sentences with no + verb + nada.
• Quickly decide which form to use when you speak about prices, quantities and frequency.

If you can do this without thinking too much, you are ready to use these forms in conversation practice.