Las olas venían demasiadas altas: los usos de demasiado en el habla de caracas

in grammar books, the term demasiado (adverb, adjective or pronoun) is described as a quantifier that expresses amount to a degree that surpasses what is considered normal or desirable. most dialectologists mention two ？non-canonical？ uses of demasiado: i. when it is used with emphatic superlative value, equivalent to muy or mucho; and ii. when the adverb is used as an adjective, agreeing in gender and number with the adjective it modifies (díez, 2000; kany, 1969; lope blanch, 2000; moreno de alba, 2003, and toscano, 1953). this research aims to analyze quantitatively and qualitatively the uses of demasiado in the sociolinguistic corpus of caracas 1987, to determine: i. if the term is used with emphatic superlative meaning; ii. if speakers use it as an adjective in contexts where it modifies another adjective; and iii. whether these uses are related to some extralinguistic variables. the results confirm the ？noncanonical？ uses of demasiado in the spanish spoken in caracas. younger women in the sample, who belong to the lower middle and lower classes, tend most often to think that demasiado is an adjective in the contexts where it modifies another adjective.