A2Lesson 8: Noun Phrase Expansion
Numbers, words like cada and todo, and quantifiers like algum, nenhum, muito and pouco all help shape the noun phrase.
determiner + noun / numeral + noun / quantifier + noun
Numerals count or order
"cada", "todo", "algum", "nenhum" help define reference
"muito/pouco" agree with nouns when used as quantifiers
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Cardinals count: "dois livros", "três pessoas". Ordinals order: "primeiro dia", "segunda vez".
"Cada" points to items one by one. "Todo/toda" can mean "every" or "whole" depending on the phrase.
"Algum/alguma" usually means "some/any". "Nenhum/nenhuma" means "no/not any".
"Muito/pouco" work as quantifiers and must agree when they modify nouns: "muita gente", "poucas casas".
Portuguese often uses singular after "cada": "cada pessoa", not "cada pessoas".
"Todo dia" and "o dia todo" do not mean the same thing.
| Step | Rule |
|---|
| Portuguese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| duas pessoas | two people |
| o primeiro dia | the first day |
| cada pessoa | each person |
| todo dia | every day |
| nenhum problema | no problem |
| muita gente aqui | many people here |
"Todo" changes meaning across patterns such as "todo dia" and "o dia todo".
"Muito" can also work as an adverb, where it does not agree: "estuda muito".
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