🌡️Adverbs of degree
How much: very, too, enough, almost, only, hardly.
13 concepts
Columns follow the languages switched on at the top. Gender after the word (m/f/n); IPA beneath; notes, alternatives and origins underneath — nothing is hidden.
| Concept | English | Français | Español |
|---|---|---|---|
very adverb | very | très Très bien, très vite. Beaucoup for verbs: j'aime beaucoup (never 'très aimer'). | muy THE Spanish trap: muy + adjective/adverb (muy bueno), mucho + verb/noun (me gusta mucho) — never 'muy mucho'. |
too / too much adverb | too Too = excessively, not 'very' — learners overuse it: 'the food is too good' sounds like a complaint. At the end of a clause it means 'also'. | trop Final p silent. In casual speech trop drifts to mean 'very': c'est trop bien ! Trop de + noun = too much/many. | demasiado Invariable before adjectives (demasiado caro); agrees before nouns: demasiadas cosas. |
enough adverb | enough Follows the adjective: big enough, not 'enough big'. | assez Precedes the adjective: assez grand. Assez de + noun: assez de temps. Also 'quite': assez bien. | bastante Also 'quite a lot': habla bastante. ¡Basta! = enough!/stop it! |
a little adverb | a little also: a bit | un peu Un peu de + noun: un peu de pain. Un petit peu = a tiny bit. | un poco Un poco de + noun. Poco without un = little/hardly any — the article changes the meaning. |
a lot / much adverb | a lot also: much (negatives/questions), many Two words — 'alot' doesn't exist. | beaucoup Beaucoup de + noun, no article: beaucoup de gens (never 'beaucoup des gens'). Merci beaucoup. | mucho The other half of muy/mucho: mucho with verbs and nouns. Agrees: muchas gracias. |
almost adverb | almost also: nearly | presque Presque fini = almost done. | casi Casi casi = very nearly / that was close. |
only adverb | only also: just | seulement also: ne … que Ne … que = only, not a negative: je n'ai que dix euros = I only have ten euros. | solo also: solamente Formerly written sólo as the adverb; the accent was officially dropped. Same word as 'alone'. |
quite / rather adverb | quite also: rather, fairly, pretty UK 'quite good' = only fairly good; US 'quite good' = very good. Same word, opposite strength. | assez also: plutôt Same word as 'enough': assez bien = quite good. | bastante Same word as 'enough': bastante bueno = quite good. |
so / so much adverb | so So + adjective (so beautiful), so much/many + noun — not 'so much beautiful'. | si also: tellement, tant A family of three, split by what follows: SI before an adjective (si belle), TELLEMENT and TANT before a verb or a noun (il travaille tant, tant de gens). And yes, si is also 'if' and the 'yes' that answers a negative question — three words in one. | tan also: tanto Tan + adjective (tan bonito), tanto + noun/verb (tanto tiempo). Clipped from tanto. |
completely adverb | completely also: totally, entirely | complètement also: tout à fait Tout à fait as a reply = 'exactly, quite right'. | completamente also: totalmente, del todo |
hardly / barely adverb | hardly also: barely, scarcely Negative by itself: 'I can hardly see' needs no 'not'. And it does NOT mean 'in a hard way' — that's just 'hard'. | à peine Literally 'with pain'. Also 'only just': il vient à peine d'arriver. | apenas Also 'as soon as': apenas llegué, llamé. |
more adverb · comparison | more More + long adjectives, -er + short ones: more interesting, but bigger. | plus also: davantage THE s-trap: plus with sounded s = more (j'en veux plus); plus with silent s in ne … plus = no more (je n'en veux plus). Opposite meanings. Davantage is plus without an adjective: j'en veux davantage, but never davantage grand. | más Accent matters: mas without it = 'but' (literary). |
less adverb · comparison | less also: fewer (countables) Purists: fewer people, less water — supermarket signs get it 'wrong' daily. | moins Au moins = at least. Moins de + noun. | menos Al menos / por lo menos = at least. |