Muy or Mucho?
Hello helpers,
I have had trouble diciphering when to use "mucho" and when to use "muy." I thought "mucho" seeming so much like the word "much" and "muy" as in "muy bien" seeming so much more like "very", that there could be no confusion. I know also that mucho is not just "much" but can also mean "a lot." But when I use "muy" and "much" where I think they should go, I am told the opposite. Why "mucho frío" and not "muy frio"? Etcetera.
Are there any rules or guidelines? Ironically, my Spanish-speaking comrads are almost useless when it comes to explainations about their mother, or second mother, tongue.
3 Answers
Wow, I never thought about it before. I just looked them up and frío, fresco, calor, viente, they are all nouns. So what "mucho frío" really means is "a lot of coldness".
In other words you are right that mucho is "much" or "a lot of" and muy is "very". Now you just need to remember that frío is a noun, and it will all make sense.
Here is a great page on the construction of statements about the weather that touches on the use of mucho.
Mucho can be an adjective, adverb, or pronoun, meaning a lot, much, or many. Muy is an adverb, meaning very. Weather statements using hacer are idioms, containing nouns, modified by mucho, acting as an adjective.
You can also use muy for the the weather, but the construction is different. El día es muy frío | está el día frío. Frío can be a noun or adjective. Here it's an adjective, modified by muy, the adverb.
I can't say I really will have an answer for you except for the fact that the word "muy" is for very so to say "Es muy frío" would be ok but "Hace frío" and "Es mucho frío" is more commonly used. I am sure the gurus will weigh in soon. Hope this is a good start for you!!
