Indefinite Determiners | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

Indefinite determiners are the words that quantify a noun without pinning it down: algum (some), nenhum (no/none), cada (each), qualquer (any), vários (several), muito (much/many), pouco (little/few), todo (all/every). Most of them agree in gender and number with their noun — but two important ones, cada and singular qualquer, are invariable, and one of them, algum, changes meaning entirely depending on where you put it. This page covers their use as determiners (before a noun). For todo vs tudo and for outro, see their dedicated pages.

The agreeing quantifiers

Most indefinites inflect like adjectives, taking four forms (masc/fem × sing/pl):

masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. pl.	fem. pl.	meaning
algum	alguma	alguns	algumas	some / any
nenhum	nenhuma	nenhuns	nenhumas	no / none
muito	muita	muitos	muitas	much / many
pouco	pouca	poucos	poucas	little / few
tanto	tanta	tantos	tantas	so much / so many
vário	vária	vários	várias	several / various

Tem algum problema com a sua conta.

There's some problem with your account. (algum agrees with masc. 'problema')

Comprei várias frutas na feira.

I bought several fruits at the market. (várias — fem. pl.)

Não tenho muita paciência hoje.

I don't have much patience today. (muita — fem. sing.)

Tanta gente apareceu na festa!

So many people showed up at the party! (tanta agrees with 'gente', which is feminine)

Note that muito and pouco only inflect when they're determiners (before a noun). When they modify an adjective or verb (as adverbs), they freeze: muito bom ("very good"), ela trabalha muito ("she works a lot") — invariable there. The agreeing forms appear only in front of a noun.

The invariable ones: cada and qualquer

Two high-frequency indefinites do not agree. This is the irregular corner you have to memorize.

cada ("each") is invariable — one form for everything, and it's always singular in sense:

Cada aluno recebeu um certificado.

Each student received a certificate. (cada — never 'cadas')

Cada dia que passa fica mais difícil.

Each day that goes by gets harder.

There is no cadas, no feminine cada — it never changes. (In casual BR, cada also has an exclamatory use: Você fala cada coisa! = "The things you say!" — but that's a separate idiom.)

qualquer ("any") is invariable in the singular and has only one plural form, quaisquer (note the irregular internal spelling — the -al- becomes -ais-):

Pode escolher qualquer mesa.

You can pick any table. (qualquer — same for masc. and fem.)

Estamos abertos a quaisquer sugestões.

We're open to any suggestions. (quaisquer — the plural, formal register)

In everyday speech, Brazilians often just repeat the singular qualquer even for plurals; quaisquer sounds formal or written.

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The agreement trap in one line: algum/alguma, muito/muita, vários/várias all agree — but cada and singular qualquer never do. And remember the odd plural quaisquer, not "qualqueres."

qualquer placement

qualquer usually comes before the noun (qualquer pessoa, "any person"). When it comes after the noun, it shifts to a dismissive "just any old / unremarkable" sense.

Qualquer pessoa pode entrar.

Anyone can come in. (pre-nominal — neutral 'any')

Não foi um jantar qualquer; foi especial.

It wasn't just any dinner; it was special. (post-nominal — dismissive 'just any')

The post-nominal algum: emphatic negation

Here is the clever one. Normally algum before a noun means "some/any" in a positive or neutral sense. But move algum (or alguma) to after the noun inside a negative sentence, and it flips to emphatic negation — the equivalent of English "whatsoever / at all / not a single."

Position	Example	Meaning
before noun	algum motivo	some reason
after noun (in negative)	motivo algum	no reason whatsoever

Não há razão alguma para se preocupar.

There is no reason whatsoever to worry. (razão alguma = emphatic 'no reason at all')

Ele não fez esforço algum.

He made no effort whatsoever.

Não tenho dúvida alguma sobre isso.

I have no doubt at all about that.

This is a positioning trick English mostly handles with the separate word whatsoever. In Portuguese, the same word (algum) does it just by changing position and leaning on the surrounding negative. The pre-nominal nenhum ("no") is the plainer way to negate — não há nenhuma razão — while post-nominal algum is the more emphatic, slightly literary flavor.

Não há nenhuma razão para se preocupar.

There's no reason to worry. (nenhuma — plain negation, the everyday version)

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nenhum (before the noun) = plain "no/none." Post-nominal algum (in a negative clause) = emphatic "none whatsoever." Both negate, but razão alguma is more forceful than nenhuma razão.

todo: a quick flag

todo ("all / every") deserves a full page of its own because todo vs toda vs todos and especially todo vs tudo are a classic confusion. As a determiner, todo dia means "every day" and o dia todo means "the whole day" — position changes meaning. See the dedicated todo vs tudo page; just note here that todo agrees (todo/toda/todos/todas) and is one of the agreeing group.

Todo mundo já sabe da novidade.

Everybody already knows the news. ('todo mundo' = everyone, a fixed BR phrase)

Common Mistakes

❌ Cadas aluno recebeu um prêmio.

Incorrect — 'cada' is invariable; there is no plural 'cadas'.

✅ Cada aluno recebeu um prêmio.

Each student received a prize.

❌ Estamos abertos a qualqueres sugestões.

Incorrect — the plural of 'qualquer' is the irregular 'quaisquer'.

✅ Estamos abertos a quaisquer sugestões.

We're open to any suggestions.

❌ Tem muito pessoas na fila.

Agreement error — before a noun 'muito' must agree: 'pessoas' is fem. pl. → 'muitas'.

✅ Tem muitas pessoas na fila.

There are a lot of people in the line.

❌ Há razão alguma para ir. (no negative)

Incomplete — post-nominal 'algum' for emphatic negation needs the negative 'não/sem/nenhum' context.

✅ Não há razão alguma para ir.

There's no reason whatsoever to go.

❌ Ela trabalha muitas.

Incorrect — as an adverb (modifying the verb), 'muito' is invariable: 'muito'.

✅ Ela trabalha muito.

She works a lot.

Key Takeaways

Most indefinites agree: algum/alguma/alguns/algumas, muito/muita, vários/várias, tanto/tanta, nenhum/nenhuma.
cada is invariable; qualquer is invariable in the singular, with the irregular plural quaisquer.
muito/pouco agree only as determiners (before a noun); as adverbs they freeze.
qualquer before the noun = neutral "any"; after the noun = dismissive "just any."
Post-nominal algum in a negative clause = emphatic "none whatsoever" (razão alguma); plain nenhum is the everyday negator.
todo agrees and has its own page (watch todo vs tudo).

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