When discussing collections—like records or trading cards—you often need to talk about individual items or general choices. Two very useful indefinite pronouns for sorting through these options are cada (each) and qualquer (any).
Cada (Each)
The word cada translates to "each" or "every". It is completely invariable, meaning it never changes form regardless of whether the noun it describes is masculine or feminine. It is always used with singular nouns.
| I read each book on the bookcase. | Eu leio cada livro na estante. |
| Each album has a different cover. | Cada álbum tem uma capa diferente. |
Qualquer (Any)
The word qualquer means "any" in the affirmative sense of "whichever one you like".
Like cada, qualquer does not change based on the gender of the noun.
| Any cover is beautiful. | Qualquer capa é bonita. |
| You can choose any record. | Podes escolher qualquer disco. |
Trading and Collecting
Let's apply these pronouns to a common hobby: collecting and exchanging trading cards (os cromos). The verb for "to exchange" or "to trade" is trocar.
| I am going to exchange each trading card. | Eu vou trocar cada cromo. |
| You can give me any trading card. | Podes dar-me qualquer cromo. |
Be careful not to mix up qualquer with negative words. If you want to say "not any" or "none" (as in having zero of an item), you must use the negative word nenhum that we learned previously.
| We do not exchange any trading card today. | Não trocamos nenhum cromo hoje. |