Spanish · Chapter 36 · Lesson 14 · Grammar primer
Quantifiers: mucho, poco, demasiado, todo, cada
How much and how many, and the agreement trap: mucha gente but trabaja mucho (adjective agrees, adverb is invariable), plus todo el dia, cada dos horas, la mayoria de and measure phrases like un par de.
The short version
Agree it with a noun, freeze it with a verb
Mucho, poco, bastante, demasiado and tanto each do two jobs. Describing a noun they are adjectives and agree: mucha gente, demasiados problemas. Describing a verb or an adjective they are adverbs and never change: es demasiado tarde. The classic error is agreeing the adverb, as in es demasiada tarde. Ask what the word is describing.
Trabaja mucho.
Más de counts, más que compares
'More than' splits on what comes next. A number or a quantity takes de: más de cien personas, menos de la mitad. A person or thing being compared takes que: sabe más que yo. One sentence can carry both, which is the fastest way to feel the difference in your ear.
Había más de cien personas, más que el año pasado.
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