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Por mucho que caves con la pala, la maleza volverá.

Por mucho que caves con la pala, la maleza volverá.
No matter how much you dig with the shovel, the weeds will return.
From Lesson 317:No matter how much (por más que, por mucho que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Por mucho que caves con la pala, la maleza volverá.

Why is caves in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative?
In clauses starting with por mucho que, we use the subjunctive when the action is hypothetical, happening in the future, or just acknowledged as background information. Because the result is in the future (volverá), the digging is treated as a hypothetical future effort. If you used the indicative (cavas), it would state a concrete, present fact: "Even though you are currently digging...".
Could I use por más que instead of por mucho que in this sentence?
Yes, por más que caves and por mucho que caves mean exactly the same thing here ("no matter how much you dig"). They are entirely interchangeable phrases used to express this kind of "sliding scale" of effort that ultimately doesn't change the outcome.
The English translation says "weeds" (plural), but the Spanish uses the singular la maleza. Why is that?
La maleza is a collective noun in Spanish, similar to "brush" or "undergrowth" in English. It refers to weeds or wild vegetation as a single mass, which is why it takes the singular verb volverá. If you wanted to talk about individual weeds, you would use the plural phrase las malas hierbas.
Why use the future tense volverá instead of the present tense?
The future tense (volverá) expresses a strong prediction or absolute certainty about the outcome. It pairs perfectly with the subjunctive caves to create the meaning: "No matter what your effort is, I guarantee the result will be this."

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