Partitive Constructions in BR | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

A "partitive" is the grammatical machinery a language uses to talk about some unspecified amount of something — some bread, du pain, del pane. French and Italian have a dedicated partitive article (du / de la / des; del / della / dei) that is grammatically required. The headline fact for English speakers is that Brazilian Portuguese has no partitive article at all. Where French forces du pain and English likes some bread, Portuguese simply uses the bare noun: pão. This page shows the strategies BR uses instead — the default bare noun, the diminutive-quantity phrase um pouco de, and measure expressions with de.

The default: the bare noun

For an indefinite, uncounted quantity of something, Brazilian Portuguese uses the noun with no determiner whatsoever. No article, no "some," nothing. This is the single most important habit to build, because both English and French push you to insert a word that Portuguese doesn't want.

Quero água, por favor.

I'd like some water, please. (bare 'água' — no word for 'some')

Comprei pão e queijo no mercado.

I bought (some) bread and cheese at the market.

Tem leite na geladeira?

Is there (any) milk in the fridge?

Ela tomou café e saiu correndo.

She had (some) coffee and rushed out.

In every one of these, English speakers feel a pull to insert some or any, and French speakers feel an even stronger pull to insert du / de la. Resist it. The bare noun is the indefinite-quantity form in Portuguese. Adding a word would change the meaning — quero a água ("I want the water") points to specific, already-known water, and quero uma água ("I'll have a water") packages it as one countable serving (a glass/bottle).

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The rule of thumb: if you could replace English "some/any" with nothing and the sentence still works ("I bought bread"), Portuguese uses the bare noun. There is no Portuguese word that maps onto the French partitive du / de la.

Why no partitive article? The deeper logic

French built its partitive out of the preposition de + the definite article (de + le → du), literally "of the." The idea is "a portion of the mass of bread." Portuguese had the same raw materials — it has de and it has o/a — and indeed de + o contracts to do, de + a to da. But Portuguese never grammaticalized this into an obligatory partitive. The language stayed with the older Latin instinct that a mass noun, used bare, already denotes "some amount." So do pão in Portuguese means "of the bread" (a specific, known loaf), never "some bread" — exactly the opposite of French du pain. This is a genuine false-friend trap for anyone coming through French.

Comi um pedaço do pão que você fez.

I ate a piece of the bread you made. (do = 'of the', specific bread — NOT 'some bread')

Quer um pouco do bolo?

Do you want a bit of the cake? (do bolo = 'of the cake', a specific cake on the table)

So do/da is alive and well in Portuguese — but it is the specific "of the," not a partitive "some." Keep these apart.

Expressing a small amount: um pouco de

When you want to flag that the quantity is small — "a little, a bit of" — use the fixed phrase um pouco de + uncountable noun. This is the closest Portuguese gets to a positive partitive, and it's extremely common:

Põe um pouco de sal, mas não exagera.

Add a little salt, but don't overdo it.

Sobrou um pouco de vinho da festa.

There's a bit of wine left over from the party.

Só preciso de um pouco de tempo.

I just need a little time.

Note that um pouco stays masculine singular regardless of the noun (um pouco de água, not uma pouca de água) — it is a frozen phrase. The de never contracts here because the following noun is itself indefinite: um pouco de água, never um pouco da água (unless you mean "a bit of the water," a specific batch).

Measure and container phrases with de

To put a definite measure on a mass noun — a kilo, a glass, a bottle, a slice — Portuguese uses measure word + de + bare noun. The de links the container/measure to its contents and, crucially, stays uncontracted because the contents are indefinite:

Me vê um quilo de arroz e meio de feijão.

Give me a kilo of rice and half a kilo of beans.

Pedimos uma garrafa de vinho tinto.

We ordered a bottle of red wine.

Ela tomou dois copos de água de uma vez.

She drank two glasses of water in one go.

Comprei uma dúzia de ovos e um maço de cigarros.

I bought a dozen eggs and a pack of cigarettes.

The contrast that trips learners up: uma garrafa de vinho ("a bottle of wine," any wine) vs uma garrafa do vinho ("a bottle of the wine," that specific wine we were talking about). The contraction do/da signals you've moved from indefinite contents to a specific, identified mass.

'A maioria de', 'a metade de' — proportion phrases

Proportions and fractions of a known group take de + a definite complement, so here the contraction do/da/dos/das is expected and correct, because you are talking about a part of a specific whole:

A maioria dos alunos passou na prova.

Most of the students passed the test. (dos = de + os, a specific student body)

Metade do bolo já acabou.

Half the cake is already gone.

This is the mirror image of the um pouco de água case. With a maioria, a metade, a parte, you're carving a slice out of a definite whole, so the article (and thus the contraction) is required. With um pouco de sal you're scooping from an indefinite mass, so no article and no contraction. Watching the contraction is the quickest way to tell which situation you're in.

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Contraction watch: de + indefinite mass = no contraction (um copo de água, um pouco de sal). De + specific/definite whole = contraction (a maioria dos alunos, metade do bolo). The little word do/da is your signal.

Common Mistakes

❌ Quero da água. / Quero do pão.

Incorrect (as 'some') — 'da/do' means 'of THE', a specific one; for indefinite quantity use the bare noun.

✅ Quero água. / Quero pão.

I'd like (some) water / bread.

❌ Eu comprei alguma pão.

Unnatural — Portuguese doesn't use 'algum' for mass nouns like this; just use the bare noun.

✅ Eu comprei pão.

I bought (some) bread.

❌ Põe uma pouca de sal.

Incorrect — 'um pouco de' is a frozen phrase; it doesn't agree in gender.

✅ Põe um pouco de sal.

Add a little salt.

❌ Comprei uma garrafa do vinho. (meaning 'a bottle of wine' in general)

Wrong nuance — 'do vinho' means a SPECIFIC wine; for wine in general use 'de vinho'.

✅ Comprei uma garrafa de vinho.

I bought a bottle of wine.

❌ A maioria de alunos passou.

Incorrect — proportions of a specific group need the article: 'dos alunos'.

✅ A maioria dos alunos passou.

Most of the students passed.

Key Takeaways

Brazilian Portuguese has no partitive article. For an indefinite quantity, use the bare noun: Quero água, Comprei pão.
Do/da in Portuguese means "of THE" (specific) — the opposite of French du/de la ("some"). This is a major false friend for French speakers.
For a small positive amount, use the frozen phrase um pouco de
- uncountable noun.
Measure/container phrases use measure + de + bare noun (um quilo de arroz, uma garrafa de vinho), with de uncontracted for indefinite contents.
Proportion phrases (a maioria, metade) take de
- definite complement, so the contraction do/da/dos/das is required.

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