There are some adverbs used as intensifiers, that is, they are modifying adjectives. For example, muy, bastante or demasiado add a degree of intensity (e.g. very tall, quite tall, too tall, etc.). Let’s look at these useful words to better describe how things are and what they look like.

Modifying Adjectives in Spanish

Muy, bastante or demasiado are some examples of adverbs modifying adjectives. Let’s see how they are used in a sentence.

Muy (very)

Muy is the equivalent of very and serves to intensify whatever adjective follows it. Probably this adverb tops the list for modifying adjectives in any language.

El director tiene un traje negro muy elegante.

The director has a very elegant black suit.

Ese niño no estudia nada. Sus notas son muy malas.

That boy doesn’t study at all. His grades are very bad.

La clase de la tarde con ese profesor es muy interesante.

Afternoon class with that teacher is very interesting.

En mi opinión, el arco iris después de la lluvia es muy bonito.

In my opinion, the rainbow after the rain is very beautiful.

El sábado fuimos todos a comer a la ribera del río. Fue muy divertido.

On Saturday we all went to the riverside to have lunch. It was very fun.

Bastante (quite)

Bastante may be translated several ways including quite, rather, fairly or even sufficiently.

Creo que esas blusas verdes son bastante elegantes.

I think that those green blouses are quite elegant.

El piso de María es bastante pequeño, pero estamos cómodos.

María’s apartment is quite small, but we’re comfortable.

Aunque vivimos en el centro de la ciudad, tenemos un piso bastante grande.

Although we live downtown, our apartment is quite big.

Este pianista es bastante bueno. Incluso es famoso en Estados Unidos.

This pianist is quite good. He’s even famous in the United States.

A Carmen siempre le ha gustado ir a contracorriente. Es bastante rebelde.

Carmen always liked to go against the current. She’s quite rebellious.

Demasiado (too)

Demasiado conveys the idea of too much of a quality, so it is usually translated to too.

Juan no nada en el lago porque el agua está demasiado fría.

Juan doesn’t swim in the lake because the water is too cold.

Mi rival es demasiado buena. No voy a poder ganar mañana.

My rival is too good. I am not going to be able to win tomorrow.

Esta historia es demasiado larga. ¿Podéis ir al grano, por favor?

This story is too long. Can you get to the point, please?

El calor no era demasiado intenso, pero suficiente para derretir la nieve.

The heat was not too intense, but enough to melt the snow.

Sara estaba demasiado distraída con otras cosas y se olvidó de ir de compras.

Sara was too distracted with other things and he forgot to go shopping.

Muy, Bastante, Demasiado before Nouns

As you have seen, the words muy, bastante or demasiado are adverbs modifying adjectives and, when placed before adjectives, they are invariable.

You can also use bastante or demasiado with nouns. In that case, these words should agree with the noun they refer to. However, muy is never used before nouns. You should use mucho instead. Let’s see some examples.

María y Luis vivirán muchos años y serán muy felices.

María and Luis will live many years and they’ll be very happy.

Mi jardín es bastante grande. Suelo encontrar bastantes ciempiés, hormigas y lagartijas.

My garden is quite big. I usually come across quite a lot of centipedes, ants and lizards.

La maleta se ha roto porque era demasiado vieja y tenía demasiadas cosas dentro.

The suitcase is broken because it was too old and there were too many things in it.

Exercises

Muy, bastante or demasiado are some examples of adverbs modifying adjectives. Now let’s do some exercises to practice them all.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Categorized in:

AdverbsAdjectivesGrammar