Today we’ll see how to ask about quantity in Spanish and how to say how much of something there is or how many elements there are. We´ll be using the Spanish counterparts of words like much, many, a lot of, few and little.
Count / Noncount nouns
Before we talk about quantity in Spanish let´s revise what count and noncount nouns are. I also have an article on my Prospero English blog on count and noncount nouns in English, so feel free to check it out.
Anyway, count nouns are those which express the number of individual elements. These nouns can be used in plural as well as in singular. For example clock is a count noun because we can have one clock, two clocks or seven clocks.
Noncount nouns are typically used only in singular. They are names of substances or abstract notions. These nouns are not typically counted in items. There may be little air or a lot of air but we would rather not say that there are twenty-four airs in our room. Have a look:
| Count Nouns | |
| una flor | a flower |
| una lámpara | a lamp |
| un día | a day |
| una mujer | a woman |
| un cuadro | a picture |
| Noncount Nouns | |
| tiempo | time |
| madera | wood |
| paciencia | patience |
| luz | light |
| color | color |
cuánto – cuánta
We ask how much if we refer to noncount nouns. In Spanish we have separate forms for masculine and feminine nouns:
| el tiempo | ¿Cuánto tiempo? | How much time? |
| la mantequilla | ¿Cuánta mantequilla? | How much butter? |
| la nata | ¿Cuánta nata? | How much cream? |
| el dinero | ¿Cuánto dinero? | How much money? |
| la leche | ¿Cuánta leche? | How much milk? |
cuántos-cuántas
In case of count nouns we say how many. In Spanish we have also separate forms for each gender:
| los chicos | ¿Cuántos chicos? | How many boys? |
| las bicicletas | ¿Cuántas bicicletas? | How many bicycles? |
| las ventanas | ¿Cuántas ventanas? | How many windows? |
| las puertas | ¿Cuántas puertas? | How many doors? |
| los árboles | ¿Cuántos árboles? | How many trees? |
mucho – mucha
In English we usually use a lot of or a similar expression in statements and much in questions and negative sentences. In Spanish there is no difference whether we are stating something, asking or negating. We use the same forms: mucho for masculine nouns and mucha for feminine ones:
| mucho tiempo | a lot of / much time |
| mucho dinero | a lot of / much money |
| mucha paciencia | a lot of / much patience |
| mucha madera | a lot of / much wood |
| mucha luz | a lot of / much light |
| mucho té | a lot of / much tea |
muchos – muchas
It works the same with count nouns. We have again two forms, one for each gender:
| muchos amigos | a lot of / many friends |
| muchos árboles | a lot of / many trees |
| muchas ventanas | a lot of / many windows |
| muchas puertas | a lot of / many doors |
| muchas bicicletas | a lot of / many bicycles |
poco – poca
The opposite of mucho is poco. It means little or not much. Poco and poca are the two forms used with noncount nouns:
| poco queso | little / not much cheese |
| poca sal | little / not much salt |
| poca carne | little / not much meat |
| poca agua | little / not much water |
| poco café | little / not much coffee |
| poca leche | little / not much milk |
pocos – pocas
For count nouns we have pocos and pocas:
| pocos cuadros | few / not many pictures |
| pocas palabras | few / not many words |
| pocos floreros | few / not many vases |
| pocas canciones | few / not many songs |
| pocas ventanas | few / not many windows |
Quantity in Spanish – Examples
Let´s have a look at these examples:
| Compramos mucho queso. We buy a lot of cheese. |
| Como muchos panecillos. I eat a lot of rolls. |
| María necesita poca sal. María needs little salt. |
| Pocos productos son baratos. Few / Not many products are cheap. |
INFO
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EXERCISE
And now, in the comments below, write other examples with all the different forms of mucho and poco.