Alguno and ninguno are the existential quantifiers of Spanish — one positive (some, any), one negative (no, none, not any) — and they form a tightly paired system. Both apocopate to algún and ningún before a masculine singular noun. Both can act as determiners (before a noun) or as pronouns (standing alone). And ninguno is the gateway to one of Spanish's most distinctive grammatical features: negative concord, where the negative no before the verb and ninguno after it cooperate rather than cancel each other out.
This page covers the apocope rules, the asymmetry between the two (alguno has a normal plural; ninguno does not), the pre-nominal vs post-nominal distinction with alguno, and the pre-verbal / post-verbal placement that decides whether you need a second no.
The forms
| Lemma | m.sg full | m.sg before noun | f.sg | m.pl | f.pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| alguno | alguno | algún | alguna | algunos | algunas |
| ninguno | ninguno | ningún | ninguna | (no productive plural) | |
Two things to lock in immediately: the masculine singular apocopates before a noun (algún libro, ningún problema), and ninguno has no plural in standard use (you say ningún libro, not ❌ningunos libros). The full forms alguno and ninguno surface as pronouns and after certain prepositions; the apocopated forms surface as determiners before masculine singular nouns.
The apocope rule
Spanish apocopates a small set of determiners and adjectives before a masculine singular noun: bueno → buen, malo → mal, primero → primer, tercero → tercer, alguno → algún, ninguno → ningún. The shortened form is obligatory — using the full form sounds wrong.
¿Tienes algún libro de poesía que me puedas prestar?
Do you have any poetry book you could lend me?
No tengo ningún plan para mañana, lo que tú quieras.
I have no plans for tomorrow — whatever you fancy.
Algún día te lo contaré todo, pero hoy no es el día.
Some day I'll tell you everything, but today isn't the day.
Ningún español que conozco bebe sangría a diario.
No Spanish person I know drinks sangria daily.
The apocope happens only before a masculine singular noun, and only when the determiner is directly adjacent to that noun. Three things break the trigger and bring back the full form:
1. Feminine noun — no apocope. The form is alguna or ninguna:
¿Hay alguna posibilidad de que cambie de opinión?
Is there any possibility he might change his mind?
No tengo ninguna gana de salir esta noche, estoy reventado.
I have no desire to go out tonight — I'm wrecked.
2. Plural noun — for alguno, the form is algunos / algunas; for ninguno, you stay singular and use ningún + singular noun in almost every case:
Algunos vecinos se han quejado del ruido del bar de abajo.
Some neighbours have complained about the noise from the bar downstairs.
No tengo ningún problema, te lo digo en serio.
I have no problems — I'm telling you seriously. (singular, even though English would say 'no problems')
3. Not directly adjacent to the noun — when the determiner functions as a pronoun (standalone) or is followed by de + something, the full form alguno / ninguno surfaces:
Vinieron algunos a la fiesta, pero no muchos.
Some [people] came to the party, but not many. (pronoun use — full 'algunos')
¿Alguno de vosotros sabe dónde está el baño?
Do any of you know where the bathroom is? (alguno + de + pronoun — full form)
Ninguno de mis amigos está libre el sábado, vaya planazo.
None of my friends is free on Saturday — what a plan. (full 'ninguno' as pronoun-like head)
Ninguno: why no plural?
Logically, no books should pluralise. English does: I have no books. Spanish has decided otherwise. The standard form is ningún libro (singular), even when the conceptual referent is plural.
No tengo ningún amigo en Salamanca, va a ser un viaje en solitario.
I have no friends in Salamanca — it's going to be a solo trip.
No queda ninguna entrada para el concierto de mañana.
There are no tickets left for tomorrow's concert. (singular, even though 'tickets' is plural in English)
The logic is that ningún libro already covers the whole set of books — there isn't even one, so there can't be many. Ningunos libros would be redundant in a way Spanish doesn't tolerate.
The plural ningunos / ningunas does technically exist in older texts and a handful of frozen expressions (en ningunas vacaciones decentes), but in modern peninsular Spanish you should treat ningún/ninguna as singular-only. If you find yourself reaching for a plural, switch to no...ningún + singular noun or rephrase with ningún of a different mass noun.
Alguno as a pronoun
Both alguno and ninguno double as pronouns — standalone forms meaning some [of them] / none [of them]. As pronouns they take the full form (no apocope) and agree with what they refer to.
—¿Has visto a mis hermanos? —Sí, vi a alguno por la cafetería.
—Have you seen my brothers? —Yes, I saw one of them in the cafeteria. (pronoun, full form)
—¿Quedan croquetas? —Sí, alguna queda en la nevera.
—Are there croquettes left? —Yes, one or two are in the fridge.
—¿Quién ha llamado? —Alguno de los proveedores, no me ha dicho el nombre.
—Who called? —One of the suppliers — they didn't give a name.
The pronoun use is especially common in answers to questions and in partitive constructions with de + group.
Ninguno as a pronoun
Same pattern: standalone, full form, often with de:
—¿Vino alguien? —Ninguno, los he llamado pero nadie estaba en casa.
—Did anyone come? —Nobody — I called them but no one was home.
Ninguna de las dos opciones me convence, hay que seguir buscando.
Neither of the two options convinces me — we have to keep looking.
De los aspirantes presentados, ninguno cumple los requisitos mínimos.
Of the applicants presented, none meets the minimum requirements.
Negative concord — the no...ninguno construction
Here is where Spanish diverges sharply from English. English forbids double negation: I don't have no books sounds non-standard or emphatic. Spanish requires it: when a negative element (ninguno, nada, nadie, nunca, jamás, tampoco) sits after the verb, you must also put no before the verb. The two negatives don't cancel — they cooperate.
No tengo ningún problema con eso, de verdad.
I have no problem with that, really. (verb-negative 'no' + post-verbal 'ningún' = cooperative, not a double negative)
No conozco a ninguno de tus amigos del trabajo.
I don't know any of your work friends.
No me queda ninguna esperanza con este equipo, llevan diez años en caída libre.
I have no hope left with this team — they've been in free fall for ten years.
If you move the negative element to before the verb, the pre-verbal no drops out — it's already covered by the fronted negative.
Ningún plan me apetece, prefiero quedarme en casa.
No plan appeals to me — I'd rather stay home. (fronted 'ningún plan'; no second 'no' needed)
Ninguno de mis amigos quiso venir, qué decepción.
None of my friends wanted to come — what a disappointment.
The rule is sometimes stated as: a negative element after the verb requires no before the verb; before the verb, no no. This is negative concord, and it's a defining feature of Spanish syntax. The dedicated negation pages cover it in more depth; for ninguno, it means: if ningún libro sits post-verbal, the verb needs no; if ningún libro sits pre-verbal, the verb does not.
Post-nominal alguno — the emphatic negative
A genuinely useful peninsular trick: alguno placed after the noun, in a negative sentence, becomes an emphatic equivalent of ningún — any whatsoever. The construction reads as more formal and slightly more emphatic than the ningún + noun version.
No tengo problema alguno con tu propuesta, adelante.
I have no problem whatsoever with your proposal — go ahead.
No queda duda alguna de su inocencia.
There remains no doubt whatsoever of his innocence.
No le he dado motivo alguno para enfadarse.
I haven't given him any reason whatsoever to be angry.
This is fronted-emphatic alguno, and it's a marker of formal, careful, or literary Spanish. In everyday conversation, ningún problema, ninguna duda, ningún motivo are the default; problema alguno, duda alguna, motivo alguno are reserved for moments when the speaker wants to underline the absoluteness of the negation. You'll see this construction in news writing, legal language, and emphatic speech.
The agreement is the regular one — alguno keeps its full form here (no apocope, because it's post-nominal) and agrees in gender and number with the noun.
The personal a: vi a alguno, no vi a ninguno
When alguno or ninguno refers to a person and functions as a direct object, Spanish requires the personal a before it — even though English has no equivalent preposition.
No conozco a ninguno de los nuevos profesores todavía.
I don't know any of the new teachers yet.
Vi a alguno de los chicos del equipo en el supermercado.
I saw some of the team's guys at the supermarket.
¿Has invitado a alguna de tus primas a la boda?
Have you invited any of your female cousins to the wedding?
Without the a, the sentence either becomes ungrammatical or shifts to mean something inanimate. The personal a is one of Spanish's small but obligatory politenesses toward human direct objects.
Alguno in interrogative contexts — "any"
In yes/no questions, alguno often translates English any:
¿Tienes alguna idea de cuándo llega el paquete?
Do you have any idea when the package arrives?
¿Hay algún restaurante abierto a estas horas por aquí?
Is there any restaurant open at this hour around here?
¿Conoces a alguno de los ponentes del congreso?
Do you know any of the speakers at the conference?
In affirmative statements, alguno corresponds more closely to some (algunos vecinos se han quejado = "some neighbours have complained"). The same lemma covers both meanings — Spanish doesn't lexicalise the some/any distinction the way English does, and the interrogative/negative context does the work.
Algo / nada — the mass-noun siblings
A quick cross-reference. Algo (something) and nada (nothing) are the mass-noun pronouns; alguno / ninguno are the count-noun versions with agreement. They live in different slots and you shouldn't mix them:
No tengo nada en la nevera, hay que ir a comprar.
I have nothing in the fridge — we have to go shopping. ('nada' for the abstract/mass meaning)
No tengo ninguna fruta en la nevera.
I have no fruit in the fridge. ('ninguna' modifying a specific noun)
The algo de / nada de partitive ("some of / none of") gets a dedicated treatment elsewhere; the rule of thumb here is that algo / nada don't agree (they're invariable) while alguno / ninguno always do.
Common Mistakes
❌ Tengo alguno libro de cocina.
Wrong — before a masculine singular noun, 'alguno' must apocopate to 'algún'.
✅ Tengo algún libro de cocina.
I have some cookbook.
❌ No tengo ningunos amigos en Madrid.
Wrong — 'ninguno' does not pluralise in standard Spanish. The form is singular: 'ningún amigo', even though English uses plural 'no friends'.
✅ No tengo ningún amigo en Madrid.
I have no friends in Madrid.
❌ No tengo nada de ningún problema con eso.
Wrong — stacking 'nada de' with 'ningún problema' is redundant. Spanish negative concord cooperates, but you don't pile up two negative quantifiers on the same noun. Pick one: 'no tengo ningún problema' or 'no tengo nada en contra'.
✅ No tengo ningún problema con eso.
I have no problem with that.
❌ Tengo ningún problema.
Missing the pre-verbal 'no'. When the negative element sits after the verb, Spanish requires 'no' before the verb (negative concord).
✅ No tengo ningún problema.
I have no problem.
❌ Vino alguno por la fiesta.
Missing the personal 'a' if 'alguno' refers to a person (and word order is also off). With people as direct objects, Spanish requires 'a' before 'alguno/ninguno'. Better as a subject: 'Vinieron algunos a la fiesta'.
✅ Vinieron algunos a la fiesta.
Some [people] came to the party.
Key takeaways
- Alguno and ninguno both apocopate to algún and ningún before a masculine singular noun. The shortened form is obligatory: algún día, ningún problema.
- Apocope does NOT happen before feminine nouns (alguna chica, ninguna idea), before plurals (algunos libros), or when the form functions as a pronoun (alguno de ellos, ninguno vino).
- Ninguno has no productive plural in modern Spanish. Ningún libro is singular even when the English meaning is "no books." This is a real grammatical asymmetry with alguno.
- Negative concord: a post-verbal ninguno, nada, nadie, nunca requires no before the verb (no tengo ningún problema). Move the negative element pre-verbal and the no drops (ningún plan me apetece).
- Post-nominal alguno in negative sentences = "any whatsoever" — emphatic, formal: no tengo problema alguno. Alternative to ningún problema, more emphatic.
- People as direct objects require the personal a: no conozco a ninguno, vi a alguno.
- Alguno in questions usually translates English any (¿hay alguna posibilidad?); in affirmatives it's closer to some (algunos vecinos). Same word, context decides.
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