Is it Muito or Muita? In Portuguese, when talking about degree or intensity, always use "muito." It's the DEFAULT. For quantities you have to match the the subject. Below, I'll help you decide when the situation is talking about degree/intensity, or quantity. When it's not clear, ask yourself: is this about the quantity of something?
Even I struggle to get this straight.
The thing that makes this tricky: In Portuguese, we're constantly reminding you to get your gender straight. And I'm not talking about your sexual preference here não! It's a constant struggle to keep word gender correct, certo?
Muito or Muita?
Minha cerveja está gelada.
Meu vinho está gelado.
We're going to use all-alcoholic examples in this post. Warning.
What happens when you add a very to the, cold? : very cold --> muito or muita gelado/a?
Answer: always use muito. VERY == MUITO. Sempre.
This seems to go against what you've learned about gender agreement! The explanation for this comes down to rules for adverbs versus adjectives, but for practical purposes, all you need to remember is this:
When talking about the degree (very), always use muito.
Essa cerveja é muito boa! ➜ This beer is really good!
Esse vinho é muito famoso. ➜ This wine is very famous.
Ela é muito rica. ➜ She's very rich.
When talking about quantity (a lot of), use muito or muita as needed to agree with the thing you're talking about.
Temos muita cerveja. ➜ We have lots of beer.
Muitos vinhos vêm da Califórnia. ➜ Lots of wines come from California.
Estou com muita sede! ➜ I'm really thirsty.
✱ This one's tricky! It seems like it's degree because it translates as very (degree). BUT... in Portuguese, you are actually saying I have lots of thirst! So, it's really quantity: muita sede.
BTW!!! These same rules apply to pouco & pouca. For quntity it's pouco/a depending on the subject. When expressing degree, it's always pouco.
Degree: Ela ficou um pouco irritada. ➜ She got a little irritated.
Quantity (fem): Poucas pessoas têm carro por aqui. ➜ Few people have a car around here.
Quantity (masc): Poucos homens practicam ginástica. ➜ Few men practice gymnastics.
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