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Indefinite adjectives and pronouns explained. What are they? A look at some common examples of each to show when and how they are used differently in conversation. |
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Some general points about how indefinite adjectives and pronouns are formed. A look at word positioning and word agreement. |
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Looking at a list of some of the most common indefinite adjectives in both Spanish and English. |
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Looking at a list of some of the most common indefinite pronouns in both Spanish and English. |
| What you can learn from this lesson | |
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Being able to define what indefinite adjectives and pronouns are and how they differ from each other. |
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Understanding how indefinite adjectives and pronouns are used in conversation and how most of them must agree to the gender and number of the other words that they replace or might be used with (usually nouns). |
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Knowing where indefinite adjectives and pronouns are normally positioned in sentences relative to the other words they replace or might be used with (usually nouns). |
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Knowing which indefinite adjectives and pronouns take only one form regardless of the gender and number of the other words they replace or might be used with. |
Affiliates |
FLUENZ SPANISH |
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INSTANT IMMERSION SPANISH |
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PART 1
The first part of this lesson seeks to explain what indefinite adjectives and pronouns are and to explain the differences between them.
Indefinite adjectives and pronouns
Indefinite adjectives and pronouns are words that refer to
people or things in a non specific way. |
Indefinite adjectives - are used with nouns to describe them. (They are usually placed directly next to the nouns that they describe in both Spanish and English.)
Indefinite pronouns - are used in place of nouns. (They often refer to nouns that have already been stated to save repeating the noun again.)
Normal sentences
| Ese barco enorme. | That huge ship. |
This sentence is specific - ‘ese’ - (that) refers to a specific ship.
Indefinite adjectives
| Algún barco enorme. | Some huge ship. |
In this sentence the adjective ‘algún’ (some / any), describes the noun it is used with; the ship, in a non specific way. We don’t know what ship is being referred to.
Indefinite pronouns
| Algunos de los barcos son enormes. | Some of the ships are huge.
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In this sentence the pronoun ‘algunos’ (one / some), is used to refer to an unspecified quantity of the huge ships. In this case the ships in general are specified but we don’t know how many of them are huge.
PART 2
The second part of this lesson looks at how indefinite adjectives and pronouns are formed in relation to the words that they are used with.
Gender and number agreement
Many indefinite adjectives and indefinite pronouns must agree with both the gender and number of the nouns they describe or refer to.
Indefinite adjectives
| Algún día voy a ganar. | Some day I’m going to win. |
| ¿Alguna vez has probado el caviar? | Have you ever tried caviar?
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| Algunos niños son malcriados. | Some children are badly behaved.
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| Algunos países son muy grandes. | Some countries are very big. |
Indefinite adjectives usually come directly before the nouns that they are used with just like normal adjectives do.
Indefinite pronouns
Although in the following example the indefinite pronouns refer to plural nouns they are only referring to one on the plural nouns and therefore need to be singular.
| Alguno de mis amigos. | One of my friends. |
| Quiero alguna de esas galletas. | I want one of those biscuits. |
In the following examples the indefinite pronouns are referring to more than one of the plural nouns and therefore need to be plural also.
| Algunos de los estudiantes fallaron. | Some of the students failed.
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| Me gustan algunos de los cuentos. | I like some of the stories. |
In the above examples the pronouns in each case come before
the nouns that they are referring to but in other situations they may come
after them. Sometimes of course no noun will be present in the sentence.
Verb agreement
If an indefinite pronoun is the subject of a verb and the nouns they refer to are not stated then care should be taken to make the verb agree with the pronoun.
| Algunos quieren venir. |
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| Alguno trató de escapar. | One tried to escape. |
Indefinite adjectives and pronouns that don’t change form
Some indefinite adjectives and pronouns have only one form which is the same even when used with nouns of different genders.
| Cada noche. (feminine noun) |
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| Cada día. (masculine noun) | Each day. |
Indefinite adjectives, pronouns and even adverbs
It is important to remember that some indefinite adjectives are also indefinite pronouns and that the meaning of the word can change accordingly. Alguno/a is a good example. Indefinite adjectives and pronouns can also be used in other parts of speech too, most often as adverbs. When learning these types of words it is best to learn the different meanings that apply to each type of word usage.
PART 3
This part of the lesson looks specifically at some of the most common indefinite adjectives. It must be remembered that an indefinite adjective might also be an indefinite pronoun. It might also be used in other parts of speech perhaps as an adverb or even a noun.
Indefinite
adjective
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Meaning
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algún / alguno/a - algunos/as
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some /
any / a few
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Algún día me saldré
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Some day
I will leave.
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¿Habrá algunos payasos?
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Will
there be any clowns.
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Daré algunas monedas cada semana.
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I will
give a few coins a week.
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cada
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each /
every
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Cada uno tenía sus razones.
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Each one
had their reasons.
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Cada invierno hace frío.
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It’s cold
every winter.
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cierto/a – ciertos/as
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certain
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Hay ciertas cosas que hacer.
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There are
certain things to do.
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cualquier / cualquiera
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any /whatever / whichever
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Cualquier hora está bien
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Any /
whatever / whichever time is fine.
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cuanto/a – cuantos/as
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all
(that)
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Toma cuanto agua quieras.
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Take all
the water you want.
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los/las demás
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the
rest of
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Las demás abejas escaparon.
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The rest
of the bees escaped.
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mucho/a – muchos/as
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a lot
of
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Había mucha gente en el cine.
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There were
a lot of people at the cinema.
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mismo/a – mismos/as
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same
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¿El mismo lugar como ayer?
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In the same
place as yesterday?
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ningún – ninguno/a
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no /
not any
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Ningún jugador merece ganar.
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No player
deserves to win.
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No quiero ningunas deudas.
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I don’t
want any debts.
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otro/a – otros/as
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another
/ other
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Escoge otro libro.
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Choose
another book.
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No hay otra solución.
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There’s
no other solution.
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poco/a – pocos/as
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few /
little
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Pocas ciudades tienen aire limpio.
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Few
cities have clean air.
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Mi maestro tiene poca paciencia.
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My
teacher has little patience.
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tanto/a – tantos/as
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so
much / so many
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Él tiene tanto dinero que no sabe que hacer.
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He has so
much money he doesn’t know what to do.
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Hay tantas opciones.
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There are
so many choices.
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propio/a – propios/as
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own /
himself / herself
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Es mi propia casa.
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It’s my
own house.
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El propio dueño dijo.
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The owner
himself said.
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tal – tales
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such
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No existe tal cosa.
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There’s
no such thing.
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todo/a – todos/as
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all /
every
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Todos los anillos son
iguales.
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All the
rings are the same.
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(Yo) como fruta todos los días.
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I eat
fruit every day.
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uno el otro
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one…..the
other
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(Yo) tomé uno y el tomó el
otro.
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I took
one and he took the other one.
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varios/as
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several
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Hay varios lunas alrededor de Júpiter
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There are
several moons around Jupiter.
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PART 4
This part of the lesson looks specifically at some of the most common indefinite pronouns. It must be remembered that an indefinite pronoun might also be an indefinite adjective. It might also be used in other parts of speech perhaps as an adverb or even a noun.
Indefinite
pronoun
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Meaning
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alguno/a – algunos/as
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one /
some / a few
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Alguno de los monos.
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One of
the monkeys.
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Algunos de los monos.
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Some / a
few of the monkeys.
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Algo
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something
/ anything
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¿Me puedes dar algo para comer?
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Can you
give me something to eat?
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¿Quieres algo?
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Do you
want anything?
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Alguien
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somebody / anybody / someone / anyone
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Alguien me contó.
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Somebody
/ someone told me.
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¿Hay alguien que quiera más?
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Is there anyone
who wants more?
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¿(Tú) contaste a alguien?
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Did you
tell anybody?
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Cada uno/a
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each
one / everyone
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Cada uno está podrido.
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Each one
is rotten.
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Cada uno tiene sus problemas.
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Everyone
has their problems.
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Cualquiera
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anybody
/ anyone
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Cualquiera puede cantar con práctica.
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Anybody /
anyone can sing with practice.
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Los demás
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the
rest
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¿Qué de los demás?
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What
about the rest?
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Mucho/a – muchos/as
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much /
many
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(Yo) no tengo mucho para ofrecerte.
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I don’t
have much to offer you.
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Muchas de las mujeres fueron llorando.
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Many of
the women were crying.
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Ninguno/a
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none /
any / no one
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¿Cuantos tienes? Ninguno.
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How many
do you have? None.
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Él tiene uno y yo ninguno.
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He has
one and I don’t have any.
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Ninguno quería ayudarme.
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No one
wanted to help me.
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Nada
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nothing
/ anything
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¿Qué me has dicho? Nada.
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What did
you say to me? Nothing.
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Nada es cierto en la vida.
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Nothing
is certain in life.
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El no me dio nada.
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He didn’t
give me anything.
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nadie
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nobody
/ no one / anybody / anyone
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¿Quien te habló? Nadie.
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Who spoke to you? Nobody.
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Nadie vino a la fiesta.
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No one
came to the party.
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(Yo) no confío en nadie.
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I don’t
trust anyone.
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Ellos no vieron a nadie.
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They
didn’t see anybody.
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otro/a - otros/as
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another
one / others
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(Yo) quiero otro.
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I want
another one.
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Las otras fueron la semana pasada.
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The
others went last week.
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poco/a - pocos/as
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little
/ little bit / few / a few
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(Yo) solamente quiero poco.
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I only
want a little / little bit.
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Me quedan unos pocos.
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I have a
few left.
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tanto/a – tantos/as
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so
much / so many
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Hay tanto que hacer.
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There’s
so much to do.
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¿Había mucha gente? No tanta.
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Were
there a lot of people? Not many.
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todo/a - todos/as
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everything
/ all / everyone
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Él me contó todo.
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He told
me everything / all.
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Todas tienen que pagar.
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Everyone
has to pay.
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Uno/a – unos/as
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one /
some
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Uno no puede esperar milagros.
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One can’t
expect miracles.
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Unos dicen que han visto fantasmas.
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Some say
they’ve seen ghosts.
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unos cuantos
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a few
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Ella me vendió unos cuantos.
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She sold
me a few.
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That concludes this lesson on indefinite adjectives and
pronouns. If you have not done so already watch the actual video for this
lesson and then try one of the associated quizzes to test your understanding.
