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Aquele gato é muito preguiçoso e dorme muito.

Aquele gato é muito preguiçoso e dorme muito.
That cat is very lazy and sleeps a lot.
From Lesson 50:Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Aquele gato é muito preguiçoso e dorme muito.

The word muito appears twice here. Why is it translated as "very" the first time and "a lot" the second time?
In Portuguese, muito is a versatile word. When it comes right before an adjective (like preguiçoso), it acts like "very" to make the adjective stronger. When it comes after a verb (like dorme), it describes how much the action happens, so it translates to "a lot" or "much".
If the cat were female (gata), would muito change to muita?
No! When muito is used as an adverb of degree (meaning "very" or "a lot"), it never changes form. It stays exactly the same whether the subject is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural. You would say a gata é muito preguiçosa. It only changes to muita or muitos when it means "many" or "a lot of" right before a noun.
Why does the sentence use é instead of está for being lazy?
We use é (from the verb ser) for permanent traits and characteristics. By saying é muito preguiçoso, we are saying the cat has a lazy personality in general. If we used está (from estar), it would mean the cat is just acting lazy or feeling sluggish right now as a temporary state.
Why use aquele for "that cat" instead of esse?
Portuguese has two words for "that". You use esse when the object is close to the person you are talking to. You use aquele when the object is far away from both of you, like a cat sleeping across the room or outside in the yard.

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