“muy” Vs. “mucho” in Spanish – Learn and Practice

Welcome 😊 to our grammar lesson on how to choose between muy and mucho in Spanish.

Here we will learn the difference between muy and mucho, and the types of sentences where we use each word.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to choose between “muy” and “mucho” correctly in your sentences.

You will also find a Quiz and an Exercise to practice.

muy

muy means “very”.

We can only place muy before an adjective or an adverb (such as “grande, fuerte, rápido”…).

muy never changes its form. It is always muy:

Tu amigo es muy amable.
Your friend is very nice.

Tus amigos son muy amables.
Your friends are very nice.

Llevas una camisa muy bonita.
You are wearing a very beautiful shirt.

Laura canta muy bien.
Laura sings very well.

Patricia conduce muy rápido.
Patricia drives very fast.

muy always needs an adjective or an adverb right after it. Otherwise, it becomes mucho:

¿Estás muy contenta?
Are you very happy?
Sí, mucho.
Yes, very.

mucho

mucho can mean “much, a lot, many”. It comes in 4 possible forms:

• mucho (masculine singular)
• mucha (feminine singular)
• muchos (masculine plural)
• muchas (feminine plural)

When it is related to a noun, it needs to match that noun’s gender and number:

¿Tienes muchos amigos en Madrid?
Do you have many friends in Madrid?
Sí, muchos.
Yes, many. (although the noun is not mentioned, we still mean amigos)

Paco gana mucho dinero.
Paco earns a lot of money. 

Muchas personas quieren trabajar.
Many people want to work.

Conozco muchas.
I know many. (“muchas” refers to a feminine plural noun, even though we don’t mention it here. For example, we could mean ciudades, cities)

María tiene mucha paciencia contigo… ¡mucha!
María has a lot of patience with you… a lot!

But when mucho is not related to a noun, then it is always mucho, without variation:

¿Corres mucho?
Do you run a lot?
Sí, mucho.
Yes, a lot.

Los niños pequeños duermen mucho.
Small children sleep a lot.

Me gusta mucho jugar a las cartas.
I like playing cards a lot. (be careful: “mucho” is related to “jugar”, not to “cartas”. We don’t mean “a lot of cards”)

Me gustan mucho estas flores.
I like these flowers a lot. (careful again: “mucho” is related to “gustar”, not to “flores”. We don’t mean “a lot of flowers”)

Practice

Quiz

Take this short Quiz about “muy” vs “mucho”:

Exercise 1

Fill the gaps choosing between “muy – mucho – mucha – muchos – muchas”.

Click on the gray spaces to see the solutions:

1) Mi familia tiene muchos coches.
My family has many cars.

2) Los libros son muy interesantes.
The books are very interesting.

3) Nuestros amigos están muy contentos.
Our friends are very happy.

4) Me interesa mucho la política americana.
American politics interests me a lot.

5) Tú has visitado muchas ciudades.
You have visited many towns.

Exercise 2

More sentences!:

6) Nos gustan mucho las sillas.
We like the chairs a lot.

7) Esta máquina es muy eficiente.
This machine is very efficient.

8) Ella trabaja mucho .
She works a lot.

9) ¿Estás muy tranquilo?
Are you very relaxed?
Sí, mucho .
Yes, very.