Describing Qualities with "Algo de"
When you want to describe an indefinite or abstract quality—like saying a place has "something magical" or "nothing special" about it—Portuguese uses a specific partitive structure:
- Indefinite pronoun (algo, nada, etc.) + de
- Adjective
There is one crucial rule to remember: the adjective in this structure is always masculine singular, regardless of the gender of the noun you are talking about.
To say that a place has "something" about it, use algo de. Notice in the first example how the adjective intocado stays masculine singular even though cascata (waterfall) is feminine:
| There is something untouched in this waterfall. | Há algo de intocado nesta cascata. |
| The woods have something pure about them. | O bosque tem algo de puro. |
| What I see in the valley has something majestic about it. | O que vejo no vale tem algo de majestoso. |
To express that there is "nothing" of a certain quality, use nada de. Just like with algo, the adjective remains strictly masculine singular.
| I was going to visit the waterfall, but there is nothing magnificent there. | Eu ia visitar a cascata, mas não há nada de magnífico lá. |
| We were going to draw the ravine, but there is nothing majestic in it. | Nós íamos desenhar a ravina, mas não há nada de majestoso nela. |
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