Learn French: Le serveur travaille très vite et il marche beaucoup. - The waiter works very fast and he walks a lot.

This is the core rule for this lesson! You use très (very) before describing words or adverbs like vite (fast). You use beaucoup (a lot / much) to describe an action, placing it right after the verb like marche (walks).

Can I say très beaucoup to mean 'very much'?

No, never! In French, beaucoup already covers 'a lot' or 'very much' all by itself. Saying très beaucoup is a common mistake for English speakers, but it sounds like saying 'very a lot'. Just stick to beaucoup.

Does marche mean 'marches' like a soldier?

It can, but in everyday French, the verb marcher is the normal word for 'to walk'. Here, il marche beaucoup simply means the waiter is walking around a lot while doing his job.

Why is beaucoup placed directly after marche?

In French, words that tell us how much an action happens (like beaucoup) generally must sit immediately after the verb they describe. You cannot separate them, so beaucoup follows marche immediately.