Quantifiers: muito, pouco, alguns, todos, nenhum

Here's the deal with Portuguese quantifiers: most of them are little chameleons. Put one in front of a noun and it has to match that noun's gender and number — but use the same word to mean "very," and it freezes solid and never changes. Telling those two jobs apart is the whole game.

The Agreement Grid

Shopping & Quantities

• "Tem muitas opções" (There are many options)

• "Poucos produtos em promoção" (Few products on sale)

• "Quero algumas frutas" (I want some fruit)

• "Todo mundo gosta" (Everyone likes it)

• "Não tem nenhuma vaga" (There's no spot left)

Daily Descriptions

• "Tenho muito trabalho" (I have a lot of work)

• "Eu falo pouco" (I speak little)

• "Alguns dias são difíceis" (Some days are hard)

• "Toda segunda eu estudo" (Every Monday I study)

"Muito" as an intensifier never agrees

When muito means "very," keep it frozen no matter what:

• "Ela é muito bonita" (not "muita bonita")

• "Eles são muito altos" (not "muitos altos")

Todo without an article = fixed expressions

• todo mundo (everybody) — never "todo o mundo"

• todo lugar (everywhere), de todo jeito (anyway)

Nenhum and the double negative

When the negative word follows the verb, you still need não up front:

• ✅ "Não tenho nenhum dinheiro"

Listen to a Brazilian say muito and you'll catch a nasal hum — it comes out like "muĩto" [ˈmũjtu], even though the spelling has no tilde, m, or n to justify it. It's the one Portuguese word with a nasal sound and zero nasal marking: the "m" simply leaks its nasality onto the "ui." Medieval scribes heard it too and sometimes wrote it muin or muyn.

Sources: Ciberdúvidas da Língua Portuguesa, Dicio