Grammar: Quantifiers/Intensifiers

Russian Quantifiers

Quantifiers in Russian describe the quantity or degree of something, and they generally agree with the noun they modify in case, gender, and number.
Common Russian quantifiers include много (many/much), мало (few/little), сколько (how many/how much), несколько (a few), and немного (a little).
Много and мало do not change form regardless of the noun they modify while сколько, несколько and немного do change according to the noun’s case, gender, and number.

Intensifiers in Russian are used to emphasise the adjective or other word they are modifying.
Очень (very) is the most common intensifier in Russian. It doesn’t change form according to gender, number, or case.
Other common intensifiers include довольно (quite), чрезвычайно (extremely), and вполне (fully/entirely).
Russian intensifiers generally do not change according to the gender, number, or case of the word they are modifying.

Placement of quantifiers and intensifiers in a sentence matters. They usually go as close to the word they modify as possible.
For instance, if they modify a noun, they are placed before the noun. If they modify a verb, adjective or adverb, they are placed right before it.
An example of this in use: Он очень усталый (He is very tired). Here, очень is the intensifier modifying усталый (tired).
Similarly: У них много друзей (They have many friends). In this case, много is the quantifier modifying друзей (friends).
Pay attention to the agreement between the quantifier or intensifier and the word it is modifying. Some quantifiers change their form to match the gender, number or case of the noun they are modifying while others do not. Intensifiers generally do not modify for gender, number or case.