Indefinites II: algum, nenhum, qualquer, cada, outro, vários, ambos

What it is

Indefinites are the small words that say how many or which one without giving an exact number: algum (some), nenhum (no, none), qualquer (any at all), cada (each), outro (other, another), vários (several), certo (a certain) and ambos (both). They go before the noun, like articles, and most of them agree with it in gender and number: alguma ideia, alguns amigos, nenhuma loja.

You met the pronouns alguém, ninguém, algo, nada and tudo in pt-g-044. This topic is about the words that come with a noun, plus the few that can also stand alone (nenhum, cada um, qualquer um, os outros, ambos).

How to form it

Three spelling points: a final -m becomes -ns in the plural (algum → alguns, just like bom → bons); qualquer puts its plural in the middle (quaisquer), and that plural is rare outside writing; cada never changes.

Nenhum is almost always singular in Brazil: Não tenho nenhum amigo lá, not nenhuns amigos. Vários and ambos only exist in the plural. Ambos needs the article before a noun: ambos os filhos, ambas as mãos. In speech, os dois / as duas is far more common.

Where nenhum goes

Nenhum follows a double-negation rule:

• after the verb, it needs não before the verb: Não vi nenhum carro.
• before the verb, it negates on its own: Nenhum carro passou.
• after the noun, it is emphatic and very common in speech: Não vi carro nenhum. De jeito nenhum! (No way!)

In formal writing, algum after the noun in a negative sentence also means "none": sem dúvida alguma, de modo algum, em momento algum.

Try a few before reading on:

When to use it

English any splits three ways, and this is the main thing to learn:

• algum: some, one or other. Algum dia eu vou pro Japão. Alguns alunos faltaram.
• qualquer: no matter which. Pode sentar em qualquer lugar. Qualquer um consegue. After the noun, with um, it means "any old, nothing special": um restaurante qualquer. Qualquer coisa, me liga = "If anything comes up, call me."
• cada + singular: each one, taken separately. Cada quarto tem banheiro. On its own: cada um / cada uma. For intervals: a cada duas horas.
• outro: no article needed. Quer outro café? Os outros já foram. Um outro is also normal in Brazilian speech. Outra vez = again.
• vários / várias: several. Já te liguei várias vezes.
• certo before the noun = "a certain": certa vez (once), em certos casos. After the noun it means "right": a resposta certa.

Contrasts and traps

• algum vs nenhum. Você tem algum irmão? — Não, não tenho nenhum. Never não tenho algum: that is the classic English-speaker slip.
• qualquer vs algum. Me empresta uma caneta? Qualquer uma serve (it doesn't matter which). Alguma would just mean "some pen or other".
• cada vs todo. For habits Portuguese says todo dia or todos os dias. Cada dia stresses each separate day: Ele melhora a cada dia.
• qualquer livro vs um livro qualquer. The first is "any book (you choose)"; the second is "some book, it doesn't matter which".
• Agreement follows the Portuguese noun: nenhum problema (masculine), outra cor, ambas as mãos (mão is feminine).
• Ambos os dois is redundant: say ambos or os dois.
• Lado nenhum is European Portuguese; Brazil says lugar nenhum.

If you speak Spanish

The system is almost the same as in Spanish, so the danger is in the forms: ningún → nenhum, algunos → alguns, cualquiera → qualquer um, otro → outro, varios → vários. Ambos needs an article (ambos os filhos), a daily habit is todo dia (not cada dia), and genders don't always match: outra cor, nenhuma viagem.