EL FAMOSO: "MORE OR LESS"

EL FAMOSO: "MORE OR LESS"

I think I have heard Spanish speakers use this expression every day since I arrived in Spain 10 years ago. The frequency of its use by Spanish speakers is hardly surprising considering the fact that "más o menos" is pre-programmed into your minds and the obvious and direct translation is "more or less".

The first thing to make clear here is that "more or less" can be used in English without a problem but you need to be careful about HOW you use it. If used in conjunction with a number, it will generally be correct: "There are 50 chairs in the conference room, more or less" or "It took me more or less 3 hours to drive to Valencia". Generally, we use this expression more orally rather than in the written form.

The classic mistake for Spanish speakers is: "Can you speak English?" ...."Mmm, yes, more or less". This is not ideal because there is no number involved. A better answer would be: "A little".

​Hope that helps!