How do you use very "muy" in Spanish

Question

I am studying Spanish with Michel Thomas Method. It states:

That is a very good idea. = Eso es una buena idea.

I notice that there is no "muy" in the Spanish translation. Does this mean that you don't use "very" to emphasize a quality? When would you use "muy"?

Answer 1

What Diego explains is correct. "Muy" is equivalent to the English adverb "very"--both modify adjectives or other adverbs ("Ella corre muy lentamente" = "She runs very slowly"; "Ella es muy tonta" = "She is very stupid"; "una chica muy popular" = "a very popular girl").

However, it's not an error in the course, as you commented. Notice that "buena" here precedes the noun that it modifies, which is "idea." In Spanish, the adjective usually follows the noun that it modifies. However, to give special emphasis, and especially with certain adjectives like "bueno," simply changing the word order in this way is enough to heighten the meaning of the adjective. Such a change in word order cannot be directly translated into English, so it is simply translated as "very." Similarly, "un día terrible" and "un terrible día" both mean "a terrible day," but the second one is more dramatic. Thus, adding "muy" to "buena idea," when the word order already conveys some degree of emphasis, is not absolutely necessary.

EDIT: You also might be interested in Kent Anderson's and dockeryz's answer to this recently asked question: Adjective in "buena casa"

Answer 2

"Muy" is an adverb. Thus, you use it to modify the quality of adjetives (among others) as you stated. It does stand for "very" and indeed it is used for emphasis, but as "very" in English you are not forced to use it every time. You could either say

Eso es una buena idea _{That is a good idea}

Eso es una muy buena idea _{That is a very good idea}

In the second sentence, you are only emphasizing. Realize that if you were forced to use "muy" every time, it would lose its meaning, since it wouldn't indicate emphasis. It would be just a particle you are forced to use. As "very", you only add "muy" when you want to stress the quality.

Eso está bien vs. Eso está muy bien

Ese coche es rápido vs. Ese coche es muy rápido

Answer 3

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MUY:

• Muy is an adverb which means "very" in English. This word has only one form regardless of gender (masculine/feminine) or number (plural/singular).
• It is often used before an adjective to enhance its intensity.

For example:

Estoy muy enojado - I am very angry

Mi abuelita es muy baja - My grandmother is very short

• It can also be used before an adverb

Yo hablo muy despacio - I speak very slowly

• It needs to be accompanied by an adverb or an adverb. It never stands alone.

So you say, "Sí, mucho" instead of "si, muy"

Source: Muy vs Mucho - How and when to use