Masculine vs. Feminine

Question

The use of the masculine "Muchísimo" rather than "muchísima" the following sentence confuses me, since it appears to be referring to the "La cuidad, Málaga."which would seem to require the feminine. Málaga gusta muchísimo también porque la gente que no conoce puede ir a comer a la playa... Thanks for any explanation.

jim

Good question! - --Mariana--, Jul 23, 2012

Answer 1

I think it should say - Málaga también me gusta muchísimo.

You use mucho/muchísimo here because it's an adverb modifying gustar. It only has to agree with the noun when it's acting as an adjective - muchAS graciAS etc (smiley)

Excellent! - --Mariana--, Jul 23, 2012

I agree. The "me" is missing. And the speaker is male. - gringojrf, Jul 24, 2012

Answer 2

Here you are how to write this sentence:

"Málaga me gusta también muchísimo porque la gente que no la conoce puede ir a comer a la playa"

You are right when you say that "La ciudad" is feminine, so we should use "muchísima" instead of "muchísimo".... But in this case we use masculine "muchísimo"..

WHY?

Because we say "me gusta" (to like)... and "el gusto" is masculine...

Some examples:

• Me gusta mucho/muchísimo la playa. (playa is feminine).
• Me gusta mucho/muchísimo el vino. (vino is masculine

We never say: - Me gusta mucha/muchísima la playa.

We use "mucho or mucha", with other verbs but never with "I like":

a) to be ---

• Es mucho trabajo para mi (mucho/trabajo are masculine)
• Es mucha gente para tan poco espacio (mucha/gente = feminine)

b) to have ----

• Había muchos ordenadores encima de la mesa (muchos/ordenadores = masculine)
• Tienen mucha suerte (mucha/suerte = feminine)

c) to eat - ..... etc....

Excellent answer! - --Mariana--, Jul 23, 2012

Answer 3

We use "mucho or mucha", with other verbs but never with "I like":

a) to be ---

Es mucho trabajo para mi (mucho/trabajo are masculine) Es mucha gente para tan poco espacio (mucha/gente = feminine) - Jose

but aren't the words mucho/mucha here acting as adjectives for the nouns (m) 'trabajo' and (f) 'gente' instead of acting on the verb 'to be' here?

Answer 4

Kiwi-Girl, in Spanish

MUCHO, can be:

a) Adjective b) Pronoun c) Adverb

For English, you only use "a lot/ a lot of".

An adjective is a characteristic of the noun (example: colour, size, etc... : red car, big boat, etc...), and in Spanish adjectives are the same properties that the nouns... but in English it's always the same thing.

Example:

• Coche rojo (masculine sing) = red car
• Coches rojos (masculine plural) = red cars

"Red" (and adjectives in general) in English is invariable, but NOT in Spanish

When you use "mucho" as adjective, so you have to write it in concordance with the noun... Adjectives are always next to a noun.

For example: some examples about "mucho" as adjective and "to be":

• Es mucho dinero para mi -> mucho (adj masculine sing.) + dinero (noun masculine sing).

• Es mucha cantidad de dinero para mi -> mucha (adj fem. sing.) + cantidad (noun fem. sing).

• Eran muchas mujeres las que iban al concierto -> muchas (adj fem. pl) + mujeres (noun fem. pl.)

• Serán muchos hombres los que tengan que luchar en la guerra -> muchos (adj masc. pl.) + hombres (noun masc. pl.).

oooo

When "mucho" acts like an adverb is invariable...

I like red apples a lot = Me gustan mucho las manzanas rojas

In this case, "MUCHO" isn't an adjective, it's and adverb. "rojas" is an adjective.

• Adjectives show a quality of the noun. (it's variable with noun)
• Adverbs show a quality of the verb. (it's invariable with the verb)

So,

• gustan (Third pl.) -> A mi me gustan ellas (ellas = manzanas = apples)

• mucho (sing. masc.)

• manzanas (pl. fem.) = rojas (pl. fem)