Free Spanish Lesson 34 – “Not much.”

This week I’m going to talk about another phrase that Americans, and English speakers in general (for you readers outside of the U.S.) usually say incorrectly. If you use this phrase, you will definitely sound like a “Gringo” or “foreigner” (we’ll talk about the exact definition of “Gringo” next week).

I am talking about the phrase “Not mucho”. Many native English speakers will say “Nada mucho” for “Not much”, this is simply wrong!!! The problem is that now I’ve told you the phrase you will have a tendency to remember and say it. Don’t! It’s incorrect! — you need to remember the correct phrase “No mucho” [no moo-choh].

Let’s repeat it a few times to help you remember it “No much o” . . . “No mucho”. Now say it out loud — “No mucho”. Now yell it for emphasis “¡¡NO MUCHO!!”. If people look at you funny for saying it out loud and yelling it, just tell them you are learning Spanish and your teacher (me – Dave Clark) told you to do it.

To let you know how funny this incorrect phrase sounds to native Spanish speakers, I’m going to tell you about a TV commercial which aired in the Dominican Republic about 10 years ago. It was a shampoo commercial where an American was shampooing his hair and some Dominicans asked him “What’s happening” or “¿Qué pasa?” [Kay paw-saw].

The American, with a very “Gringo” accent said “Nada mucho” and all the Dominicans laughed because not only did he say the phrase with a “Gringo” accent, but because it was incorrect. I didn’t quite see how the commercial sold shampoo, but I guess it must have worked.

The reason I can vividly remember what happened in the commercial is because w hen I was walking around the streets of the Dominican Republic, at least once or twice a day groups of teenage Dominican boys, the kind that think they’re really “cool”, would come up to me and say “¿Qué pasa?” . . . “¿Nada mucho?”

Then they would all die laughing hysterically. At first, it would drive me crazy, but then I would start a conversation with them in Spanish. They were amazed that I could speak fluently and correctly and it would quiet them down somewhat, but the next day it would happen all over again.

Let’s give ourselves a good name and reputation as English speakers learning Spanish and instead of saying “Nada mucho”, say “No mucho”. Why don’t you say it one last time to help you remember . . .”No mucho”.

The Level I Visual Link Spanish™ course teaches you the correct way to speak Spanish so it won’t be obvious that you are a “Gringo”. Through the course, you will be taught to pronounce like a native speaker, and also learn to build sentences and converse using correct speech. Most courses and Spanish books just teach words but never teach you how to put them together into sentences.

¡Hasta luego! (Until later!)

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Written by David S. Clark President/Director, U.S. Institute of Languages. Copyright © 1999-2010 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.