Living in a converted motorhome forces you to embrace extreme minimalism.
| the motorhome | a autocaravana |
In such a compact space, you quickly realize you have very few possessions to manage.
Infinitival Relative Clauses with Things
To express ideas like "nothing to hide" or "something to fix" in Portuguese, we use a specific structure called an infinitival relative clause.
When the word you are describing is an indefinite pronoun referring to a thing—such as nada (nothing), algo (something), muito (much), or pouco (little)—we link it to the action using the relative pronoun que, followed by the verb in its raw infinitive form.
While English simply uses "to" (nothing to hide), Portuguese uses que (nada que esconder).
| They started to live in the motorhome and had nothing to hide. | Eles passaram a viver na autocaravana e não tinham nada que esconder. |
| The interior is so compact that we do not have anything to wear. | O interior é tão compacto que não temos nada que vestir. |
This pattern remains consistent when using other indefinite pronouns that indicate quantity or existence:
| The foldable mattress fits well, so there is little to arrange. | O colchão dobrável encaixa bem, por isso há pouco que arrumar. |
| Storage is versatile, but we rarely have much to store. | O armazenamento é versátil, mas raramente temos muito que guardar. |
| If you leave an object loose, you will have something to repair later. | Se deixares um objeto solto, vais ter algo que consertar depois. |
Infinitival Relative Clauses with People
When the indefinite pronoun refers to a person—like alguém (someone) or ninguém (no one)—and the action requires a preposition (such as asking for help from someone), the structure changes slightly.
Instead of que, we use the necessary preposition followed by quem (who/whom) and the infinitive. For instance, because you ask something to someone (pedir a alguém), you use a quem + infinitive:
| We needed to convert the interior, but we didn't have anyone to ask for help. | Precisávamos de converter o interior, mas não tínhamos ninguém a quem pedir ajuda. |