Indefinite Pronouns & Quantifiers

Introduction

Indefinite pronouns and quantifiers are the words that refer to non-specific people, things, or amounts — something, someone, nothing, nobody, each, every, another. They're extremely common in daily conversation, and Spanish has specific rules for using them.

Affirmative Indefinites

Examples

• ¿Quieres algo? — Do you want something?
• Alguien llamó. — Someone called.
• ¿Tienes algún problema? — Do you have any problem?
• Algunas personas no vinieron. — Some people didn't come.
• Hay algo en la mesa. — There's something on the table.

Alguno shortens to algún before a masculine singular noun: algún día (some day), NOT alguno día.

Negative Indefinites

Examples

• No quiero nada. — I don't want anything. (I want nothing.)
• No vino nadie. — Nobody came.
• No tengo ningún problema. — I don't have any problem.
• Ninguna respuesta es correcta. — No answer is correct.

Ninguno/a is almost always singular — even when the English would be plural. No tengo ningún libro. (NOT: ningunos libros)

Double Negation

Spanish uses double (or even triple) negation — it's not only allowed, it's required:

• No viene nadie. — Nobody is coming. (lit. "Not comes nobody.")
• No tengo nada. — I have nothing.
• No le dije nada a nadie. — I didn't say anything to anyone.

But if the negative word comes first, no is dropped:

• Nadie viene. — Nobody is coming.
• Nada pasó. — Nothing happened.

Quantifiers

Todo/a/os/as — All / Every / Everything

• Todo es posible. — Everything is possible.
• Todos vinieron. — Everyone came.
• Todas las mañanas corro. — Every morning I run.
• Leí todo el libro. — I read the whole book.

Pattern: todo/a + el/la + noun = the whole: toda la ciudad (the whole city). todos/as + los/las + noun = all/every: todos los días (every day).

Cada — Each / Every

• Cada persona es diferente. — Each person is different.
• Cada día aprendo algo nuevo. — Every day I learn something new.
• Cada vez que llueve… — Every time it rains…

Cada is invariable — it never changes: cada hombre, cada mujer, cada día.

Otro/a/os/as — Another / Other

• Quiero otra cerveza. — I want another beer.
• Los otros estudiantes ya salieron. — The other students already left.
• Otro día te cuento. — I'll tell you another day.

Never use "un" with "otro": Quiero otro café. (NOT: un otro café)

Varios/as — Several

• Varias personas me dijeron lo mismo. — Several people told me the same thing.
• He ido varias veces. — I've been several times.

Ambos/as — Both

• Ambos hermanos son altos. — Both brothers are tall.
• Ambas opciones son buenas. — Both options are good.

Algo / Nada as Adverbs

Algo and nada can modify adjectives (meaning "somewhat" and "not at all"):

• Es algo difícil. — It's somewhat difficult.
• No es nada fácil. — It's not easy at all.

Practice