In Spanish, we often use special words called ‘indefinite pronouns’ when we don’t want to say exactly how much or how many of something we’re talking about. These words help keep things vague.
Two examples of these words are “algo” and “nada”. These words are special because they don’t change whether we’re talking about a boy or a girl (gender), or one thing or many things (number).
“Algo” is a word we use when we’re talking about ‘some’ or ‘something’ but we don’t say what it is. For example, if a friend has something in her bag but we don’t know what, we could say, “Ella tiene algo en su bolso” (She has something in her bag).
On the other hand, “nada” is the word we use when there is ‘nothing’ or ‘not anything’. So, if we look in the fridge and there’s no food, we could say, “No hay nada” (There is nothing).
In Spanish, we often use “nada” in sentences that say ‘no’ twice, like “No quiero nada” (I want nothing). Even though in English we usually don’t say ‘no’ twice, in Spanish it’s pretty common.
So, when you’re speaking or writing in Spanish and don’t want to say exactly how much or how many, remember to use these helpful little words, “algo” and “nada”. They’ll make your Spanish sound much more natural and fluent.
Check out our series of Complete Spanish Grammar articles – everything you’ll ever need to know about Spanish grammar.
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