Omission of articles before specific determiners (outro, tal, certo)

When exploring your options at a car dealership, you might want to ask about "another model," "a similar vehicle," or "such a car." In English, we naturally use the indefinite articles "a" or "an" in all of these phrases. In Portuguese, however, you must omit the indefinite article (um, uma, uns, umas) when using four specific words: outro, semelhante, tal, and certo.

Outro (Another)

Because the English word "another" literally contains the word "an", it is very tempting to translate it as um outro. However, in standard European Portuguese, outro (and its feminine form outra) stands completely on its own. You must drop the um or uma.

The dealership probably has another sporty model.
Provavelmente o concessionário tem outro modelo desportivo.
Because he offered me the trade-in, I bought another vehicle.
Porque me ofereceu a retoma, comprei outra viatura.

Semelhante (A similar) and Tal (Such a)

The same omission rule applies when using semelhante (similar) and tal (such). Where English says "a similar vehicle" or "such a suspension", Portuguese simply says "similar vehicle" (viatura semelhante) and "such suspension" (tal suspensão).

The client did not buy a similar vehicle because he told me that.
O cliente não comprou viatura semelhante porque me disse isso.
Imagining that the car has such a suspension, the price is fair.
Imaginando que o carro tenha tal suspensão, o preço é justo.

Certo (A certain)

Finally, when you use certo or certa before a noun to mean "a certain" (referring to a specific, though often unnamed, thing), you also leave out the indefinite article.

A certain robust model of this range has a fantastic suspension.
Certo modelo robusto desta gama tem uma suspensão fantástica.
Supposing that you choose a certain hybrid, the range will be greater.
Supondo que você escolha certo híbrido, a autonomia será maior.