SYNTAX: GRADUATION

1. Adjectives and adverbs are also graduated by means of certain adverbs called intensifiers. This is the table of the main ones:

1.1. To indicate “much”

1.1.1. Molt (=very)

la gent és molt amable ací	people are very kind around here
vau arribar molt d’hora	you came very soon

1.1.2. Ben, Força (=very)

la gent és ben/ força amable ací	people are very kind around here
vau arribar ben / força ràpid	you came very quickly

1.1.3. Prou (=enough)

la camisa és prou llarga	the shirt is long enough
ja n’hi ha prou!	(that’s) enough!

1.1.4. Massa (=too, rather)

la camisa és massa llarga	the shirt is too long
és una idea massa arriscada	it’s a too risky idea

1.2. To indicate “little”

1.2.1. Poc

estic poc habituat a aquest clima	I am little used to this climate
és poc probable que vinguin	it’s little probable they come

This intensifier may be reinforced with molt or ben

estic molt poc habituat a aquest clima	I am little used to this climate
és molt poc probable que vinguin	it’s little probable they come

1.2.2. Un poc, una mica (=a little, a bit)

estic una mica cansat	I’m a little tired
em sembla un poc fort	I find it a little strong

2. Nouns also admit modifiers to graduate. As a matter of fact, they are partitives in most cases. The list of them is virtually the same used for adjectives and adverbs, with a morpho-syntactic difference: in a few cases the intensifier may be inflected (molt, poc)

2.1. To indicate “much/many”

2.1.1. Molt, molta, molts, moltes; molt de (=much/many)

tinc molts alumnes enguany	this year I have many students
tu tens molt de temps, no?	you’ve a lot of time, haven’t you?

2.1.2. Prou (=enough)

no tinc prou força per lluitar	I don’t have enough strength to fight
han vingut prou turistes	there are enough tourists around

2.1.3. Massa (=too much/many)

has ficat massa oli a la carn	you’ve put too much oil to the meat
hi ha massa persones ací	there are too many people in here

2.1.4. Un grapat de (=a lot of)

avui ací hi ha un grapat de gent	today there are a lot of people
m’han regalat un grapat de revistes	I’ve been given a lot of magazines

2.2. To indicate “little”

2.2.1. Poc, poca, pocs, poques (=little/few)

avui teniu poques idees	today you’ve got few ideas
em queda poc temps	I’ve got little time left

This intensifier may be reinforced with molt, as well

avui teniu molt poques idees	today you’ve got too few ideas
em queda molt poc temps	I’ve got too little time left

2.2.2. Uns pocs, unes poques (=a few)

he conegut uns pocs amics allà	I’ve known a few friends over there
espera’t unes poques hores encara	just wait for a few hours

2.2.3. Un poc de, una mica de (=a little)

vols una mica d’aigua?	do you want a little water?
no tens una mica de cafè	don’t you have a little coffee?