Advérbios de grauAdverbs of degree , also called advérbios de intensidadeadverbs of intensity , tell us about how intensely something occurs. For the most part, Portuguese adverbs of degree operate just like English adverbs in terms of their placement and usage.
Word Order
Portuguese adverbs of degree are usually placed before the word they’re modifying if it’s an adjective or adverb, and immediately after the word they’re modifying if it’s a verb.
Degree
We’ll look at 5 of the most frequent adverbs of degree, which are ordered below from the lowest to the highest degree:
- NadaNothing, at all
- PoucoFew, little
- BastanteEnough, very
- MuitoReally, a lot
- DemasiadoToo much
Nada
Nada translates to nothing when it is the object of a sentence, as in O João não deu nada.John gave nothing. . But as an adverb of degree (when modifying verbs that don’t require an object), nada more closely corresponds to the phrase “at all”.
You will notice in the examples below that this double negative formulation (não…nada) is allowed in Portuguese, whereas in English we would use “not…at all”.
Eu não corro nada.I don't run at all.
Eu não gosto nada disso.I don't like that at all.
Pouco
Pouco is the equivalent to few or little in English. As an adverb, it refers to doing the action at a low level, so it could roughly translate to “not much”.
Hoje treinei pouco.Today I didn’t train much.
Ela estudou pouco para o teste.She studied little for her test.
Bastante
Bastante means enough or sufficiently.
Já comemos bastante.We’ve eaten enough already.
Curiously, nowadays you will also come across contexts in which bastante is used to mean “very” or “quite”. For example:
Estou bastante cansado.I’m very tired.
We will talk more about bastante later on.
Suficiente
Suficiente functions as a synonym of bastante.
Não tenho coragem suficiente.I don't have enough courage.
Muito
Muito is the equivalent to, depending on context or emphasis, the English words “really” or “lots”, or the adverbial phrases “a lot” or “quite a few”. In general, it means that the action is done to a high degree.
Parabéns, fico muito feliz por vocês!Congratulations, I’m really happy for you!
Gostei muito deste bolo.I enjoyed this cake a lot.
Demasiado/Demais
Demasiado and demais are synonyms and they are equivalent to the English adverbial phrase “too much”. Demasiado is more used in Portugal, while demais is the variation used in Brazil. However, certain sentences in European Portuguese sound more natural with demaistoo much .
Isto é demasiado.This is too much .
Bons amigos nunca são demais.Good friends are never too much.
Hey Guys,
I just completed the lesson following this page and you state here in the notes about adverbs that they are invariable but then one of the questions in the lessons that folow this page is ‘eu tenho muitA paciência’, should it not be muito?
Hey Cameron! This can get confusing, because the same words can have different grammatical functions from sentence to sentence. In this particular Learning Note, we were discussing ‘muito’ when used as an adverb, in which case it is indeed invariable. On the other hand, in the example you gave, ‘eu tenho muita paciência’, you don’t have an adverb, but a quantifier, which is variable, like all adjectives in general. You can read about ‘muito’ as a quantifier here: Quantifiers – Existential Quantifiers
You didn’t mention it as a possible translation above, but I’ve always thought of muito as meaning very, for example,
Eu estou muito feliz
I guess in many cases like this “really” and “very” are a close match in English.
Yes it can translate to “very” sometimes too. Just depends on the context. And yes you’re right — I think in most cases where it could mean “really”, replacing it with “very” would work just as well.
I find it interesting and a little uncomfortable that this
“Eu não a vi ultimamente” translates to “I haven’t seen her lately”. It obviously depends on context whether I’m talking about someone or something. Also, it is so easy to think you are hearing “Eu não a vir ultimamente” which is worlds away from what was actually said. Could I also say “Eu não vi ela ultimamente” which I think is less ambiguous.?
I do understand your struggle. Unfortunately, “Eu não vi ela” is a very easy and tempting mistake to make… In fact, some natives do it and Brazilian Portuguese people say it like that as a rule. But in European Portuguese that is wrong and does not sound pretty! An alternative would be to say “Eu não a tenho visto ultimamente” which is closer to “haven’t seen”. However “Não a vi ultimamente” is the most simple form to say it and perfectly correct!
When muito/pouco function as an adjective (coming before nouns) are they variable?
Olá! ‘Muito/pouco’ are variable when used as quantifiers and invariable when used as adverbs 🙂 For example:
– Há poucas pessoas aqui. (There are few people here – quantifier, variable)
– A casa é muito bonita. (The house is very beautiful – adverb, invariable)