Can one say
[color=red]a. His father beat Pete up very much.
?
If one can, does it mean
- His father beat Pete up frequently.
or - His father beat Pete up a lot on one occasion.
?
Many thanks.
The original sentence doesn’t work.
Use either ‘frequently’ (often) or ‘badly’ (usually relating to one incident.)
If you want to combine both (often combined with the force/damage of the beating) then it is possible:
His father frequently beat Pete up badly.
‘Badly’ will not be confused with the alternative meaning ‘in a poor manner’ because of the context.