menudo vs. a menudo

Question

A menudo digo a mi marido que ... Do you have to use A before mendudo? or can you say:

Menudo digo a mi marido que ...

I don't understand why the word for "often" has to be preceded by A.

Answer 1

It's an adverbial phrase and has to be put together to mean 'often'.

Type in just "menudo" in the blue search box on the toolbar and you will get some interesting answers to why you won't want to use it alone in this context.

so it has many other meanings! Is it the best word for me to use in my sentence? I see there is also "con frecuencia" and "muchas veces" - RachelC, Jul 11, 2012

As in English there are many ways to say things, with only slight difference. A menudo looks good to me, but the others would work too... however, note that I am learning Spanish too. - katydew, Jul 12, 2012

oops, typo on 'differences'. - katydew, Jul 12, 2012

Answer 2

And to add to what Katy said, here are two other common sayings using that adverbial phrase:

más a menudo - more often

muy a menudo - very often

Thanks Tosh. - katydew, Jul 12, 2012

Muchas gracias! So: "más a menudo que no"... = more often than not? - RachelC, Jul 12, 2012

Answer 3

Menudo is a soup, that's why.