Why the use of "que" in phrase

Question

Could someone explain why the use of "que" in the following statement is needed? Hay mucho "que " ver. In English, There is much to see. I heard this phrase in a Spanish TV commercial. Is there anything in this construction that triggers the use of que in Spanish? Any thoughts, please let me know.. Thanks

Answer 1

I have never given a thought to this construction, but a theory is that these phrases started originally as: Hay mucho que se necesita ver, hacer, construir, ganar, etc.

And then one fine day someone got lazy and dropped the se necesita part and now we use the shorter version and it still remains an impersonal sentence.

That makes sense. Even if it is only a theory it is good to have a logical reason. Gracias Julian. - jellonz, Apr 12, 2016

Answer 2

Not the best explanation, but when "mucho" is a pronoun, as in this example, the "mucho que [infinitive]" form translates to "a lot to [infinitive]". Other examples are: Mucho que hacer - A lot to do; Mucho que decir - A lot to say; etc. If there is a way to explain the presence of "que," other than idiomatic use, I'll leave that to those more advanced

This looks very clear as an answer. English majors rule! :-) - Jubilado, Apr 11, 2016

That sounds like something only a fellow English major would say :) Gracias Jubilado. - jellonz, Apr 12, 2016

Or someone who wishes he were (that room's not very crowded :O) ! - Jubilado, Apr 12, 2016