Quantities

Quantities in Spanish shape meaning by telling how much, how many, or how often something occurs. This guide covers key expressions for amounts, proportions, and frequency.

Key Vocabulary

Familiar quantifiers like más, menos, alguno, and mucho serve as building blocks for expressing amount. Learn these basic words first.

Spanish Word(s)	English Word(s)
más	more
menos	less
bastante	enough, quite
mucho	much, many
poco	little, few
algún / alguna	some, any
ningún / ninguna	no, none
cada	each, every
un montón de	a ton of
bastante más	quite a bit more
la mitad de	half of
mucho más	much more
más de	more than
un poco más	a little more
casi todo	almost all

Spanish Example	English Translation
🧺 Compré una cesta llena de frutas.	I bought a basket full of fruit.
🥫 Traje varias latas de jugo.	I brought several cans of juice.
🍞 Hay un pan en la mesa.	There is one loaf of bread on the table.
🍎 Voy a probar una manzana.	I’m going to try one apple.
🍓 Hay muchas fresas en el tazón.	There are many strawberries in the bowl.
🌽 Compramos bastante maíz para la feria.	We bought quite a bit of corn for the fair.
🥛 Hay un poco de leche en la jarra.	There is a little milk in the pitcher.
🧴 Quiero un litro de aceite de oliva.	I want a liter of olive oil.
🥬 Compré un kilo de verduras mixtas.	I bought a kilo of mixed vegetables.
📦 Llegó una caja de melones.	A box of melons arrived.

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Expressions for Proportion

Phrases like la mitad, un tercio, and la mayoría tell you how large a part is relative to a whole. They often appear with de when followed by a noun.

Spanish Word(s)	English Word(s)
la mitad de	half of
un tercio de	a third of
un cuarto de	a quarter of
la mayoría de	most of
una cuarta parte de	a fourth part of
casi todo	almost all
una gran parte de	a large part of
alrededor de la mitad de	around half of
una pequeña parte de	a small part of

Spanish Example	English Translation
🍉 La mitad de las sandías está en oferta.	Half of the watermelons are on sale.
🍊 Tres cuartos de las naranjas están maduras.	Three quarters of the oranges are ripe.
🍐 Una parte de las peras se vendió al instante.	Part of the pears sold instantly.
🌰 Quedó poco más de un cuarto de kilo de nueces.	There was a little more than a quarter kilo of nuts left.
🧺 Casi todo el cesto se vació.	Almost the entire basket was emptied.
🍇 Muchos de los racimos de uvas se colgaron para secar.	Many of the grape bunches were hung to dry.
🥕 Algunos de los zanahorias tenían tierra.	Some of the carrots had dirt on them.
🍯 Una pequeña parte del tarro de miel se derramó.	A small part of the jar of honey spilled.

Frequency Expressions

Frequency expressions describe how often something happens. They can be adverbs like siempre or phrases like una vez al día and are useful for routines and habits.

Spanish Word(s)	English Word(s)
siempre	always
nunca	never
a veces	sometimes
frecuentemente	frequently
generalmente	generally
casi siempre	almost always
rara vez	rarely
de vez en cuando	occasionally
una vez al día	once a day
dos veces por semana	twice a week

Spanish Example	English Translation
🥐 Siempre compro croissants los domingos.	I always buy croissants on Sundays.
🧃 Normalmente llevo jugo a la escuela.	I usually bring juice to school.
🍎 A menudo como una manzana como merienda.	I often eat an apple as a snack.
🥖 De vez en cuando compro pan especial.	Occasionally I buy special bread.
🍫 Rara vez compro chocolate en el mercado.	I rarely buy chocolate at the market.
🥬 Nunca compro verduras fuera de temporada.	I never buy out-of-season vegetables.
🛒 Hoy fui al mercado y traje muchas cosas.	Today I went to the market and brought many things.
📅 Cada semana compro frutas frescas.	Every week I buy fresh fruit.
🌙 A veces compro pan por la noche.	Sometimes I buy bread at night.

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Quantities with Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Use más de / menos de with numbers for precise amounts. Expressions like mucho más can modify uncountable nouns. Remember to match quantifiers to whether the noun is countable or uncountable.

Spanish Example	English Translation	Note
🍊 Compré una docena de naranjas.	I bought a dozen oranges.	Countable
🥛 Necesito un litro de leche.	I need a liter of milk.	Uncountable
🍞 Quiero dos panes para la fiesta.	I want two loaves of bread for the party.	Countable
🍯 Traje un frasco de miel.	I brought a jar of honey.	Uncountable
🥬 Hay muchas lechugas en el puesto.	There are many lettuces at the stall.	Countable
🍚 Compramos bastante arroz para la semana.	We bought quite a bit of rice for the week.	Uncountable
🥚 Vine con una docena de huevos.	I came with a dozen eggs.	Countable
🧴 Necesito medio litro de aceite.	I need half a liter of oil.	Uncountable
🍓 Quiero un kilo de fresas.	I want a kilo of strawberries.	Countable (by weight)
🥫 Hay varias latas de conserva.	There are several cans of preserves.	Countable

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Summary

Quantities guide meaning by specifying amount, proportion, and frequency. Key vocabulary includes basic quantifiers, expressions for parts of a whole, and frequency adverbs. Practice applying these to both countable and uncountable nouns.

Last updated: Tue Sep 16, 2025