Spanish quantifiers: mucho, poco, cada, todo, ningún
Spanish quantifiers split into two groups. *Mucho*, *poco*, *todo*, *ambos*, *alguno* and *ninguno* agree with their noun in gender and number. *Cada*, *cualquier* and *nada* never change at all, and *bastante* changes only for number. *Todo* needs an article after it — *toda la pizza*, *todos los días*.
Draft copy. Every claim needs a native-speaker check before publishing — the byline is what makes this citable, so it has to be earned.
Sort them by whether they move
That is the only division worth memorising. Everything else about quantifiers is vocabulary.
They agree — four forms, matching the noun:
| masc. sg. | fem. sg. | masc. pl. | fem. pl. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a lot | mucho | mucha | muchos | muchas |
| little, few | poco | poca | pocos | pocas |
| all, whole | todo | toda | todos | todas |
| some, any | algún | alguna | algunos | algunas |
| no, not any | ningún | ninguna | — | — |
| both | — | — | ambos | ambas |
They do not — one form, whatever follows:
- cada — each, every. Always with a singular noun: cada día, cada estudiante
- cualquier — any, before a singular noun: cualquier libro, cualquier mesa
- nada — used before an adjective or adverb to mean “not at all”: no está nada mal
- bastante — one form for both genders, but it does take a plural bastantes: bastante frío, bastantes amigos
Todo takes an article
This is the one English speakers drop, because English does not have it.
- Toda la pizza. — the whole pizza
- Todos los días. — every day
- Toda mi familia. — my whole family
- Todas las semanas. — every week
Todo is followed by el, la, los, las, or by a possessive — mi, tu, su — and then the noun. Todos días is not Spanish.
Note what this means for “every day”. Cada día and todos los días both work. Todo día does not.
Ningún is singular, and it usually needs a no
Ningún and ninguna go with singular nouns even where English is plural.
- No tengo ningún amigo acá. — I don’t have any friends here
- No me gusta ninguna camisa. — I don’t like any of the shirts
And like nunca, if it comes after the verb, no is compulsory in front of the verb:
- Ningún doctor puede ayudar ahora. — no no needed, it is in front
- No puede ayudar ningún doctor ahora. — no required
Cualquier before, cualquiera after
Same word, two positions, slightly different feel.
- Cualquier libro. — any book at all, your choice
- Un libro cualquiera. — just any old book, nothing special
Placed after the noun it picks up a dismissive edge, which is exactly what English “any old” does. No me gusta leer un libro cualquiera — I don’t like reading just any book.
Bastante in Peru
The books gloss bastante as “enough”. In Peru it usually means “quite a lot” — more than sufficient, not merely sufficient.
- Hace bastante frío. — it’s pretty cold
- Tiene bastantes amigos. — he has a good many friends
If you specifically mean “enough, and no more”, suficiente is the unambiguous word: no tengo suficiente dinero.
Try it
- My whole family lives in Lima.
- Each student answers one question.
- There aren’t any chairs.
- That’s not bad at all.
→ 1 Toda mi familia vive en Lima · 2 Cada estudiante responde una pregunta · 3 No hay ninguna silla · 4 No está nada mal.
Next
Mucho has a rival that behaves completely differently, and telling them apart is the single most useful thing at this level.
Topics AdjectivesNouns and articles
Which quantifiers move?
Seven questions on agreement, on the article todo drags with it, and on the no that ningún needs.
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1My whole family lives in Lima.
Answer
Toda mi familia vive en Lima. — *Todo* agrees with the noun, and *familia* is feminine singular. It also keeps the possessive after it — *toda mi familia*.
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2___ estudiante debe responder la pregunta.
Answer
Cada — *Cada* never changes form and always takes a singular noun. There is no *cadas* in Spanish.
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3Which is correct?
Answer
Trabajo todos los días. — *Todo* needs an article after it: *todos los días*. *Cada día* is the other way to say the same thing, and it takes no article.
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4No me gusta ___ camisa.
Answer
ninguna — *Camisa* is feminine singular, so *ninguna*. *Ninguno* stays singular even where English would go plural — “I don't like any of the shirts”.
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5Which sentence is built correctly?
Answer
No puede ayudar ningún doctor ahora. — A negative word after the verb forces *no* in front of it. *Ningún doctor puede ayudar ahora*, with the negative in front, is the other correct version.
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6In Peru, *tiene bastantes amigos* means he has:
Answer
quite a lot of friends — The books gloss *bastante* as “enough”, but in Peru it usually leans towards “quite a lot”. For strictly enough, say *suficiente*.
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7Puedes usar ___ camisa. (any shirt at all)
Answer
cualquier — *Cualquier* goes in front of the noun and never changes. *Cualquiera* stands alone or follows the noun, where it turns dismissive.