In this lesson, we’ll learn about quantificadores relativosrelative quantifiers . Relative quantifiers don’t specify an exact quantity, but instead tell us about how a quantity compares in relation to an unspecified whole. As expected, the determiner used matches the gender and number of the item(s) it refers to.
Quanto, Quanta, Quantos, Quantas
Quanto and quanta are used in the same contexts as “as much (as)” in English. Quantos and quantas are the plural forms of quanto and quanta, and they correspond to “as many (as)” in English. In questions, the same words function as interrogative quantifiers, so you’ll also come across sentences in which they translate to “how much? / how many?” But for the purposes of making comparisons, we have…
quantoas much as (masc.)
quantaas much as (fem.)
quantosas many as (masc.)
quantasas many as (fem.)
Now let’s see how to use them in sentences:
Tenho tanto de comer quanto necessitoI have as much to eat as I need
Levo tantas maçãs quantas tiveresI’ll take as many apples as you have
Vou deitar a mão a tantos bombons quantos conseguir!I’ll have as many chocolates as I can get my hands on!
Wait, Where Did ‘Tanto’ Come From?
You probably noticed in the examples above that quanto (and its variants) are paired with the words tanto, tanta, tantos, and tantas.
We have mentioned these words in other lessons, but here tantoas much, so much refers to a great amount or quantity of something (i.e. the “unspecified whole”).
When paired with tanto, remember that quanto is always placed after the noun it refers to.
However, it’s also common to leave out tanto. When that happens, quanto always comes before the noun.
For example:
- Ela conheceu tantas pessoas quantas conseguiuShe met as many people as she could (as she was able to) → Ela conheceu quantas pessoas conseguiuShe met as many people as she could (as she was able to)
- Levo tantas maçãs quantas tiveresI'll take as many apples as you have → Levo quantas maçãs tiveresI’ll take as many apples as you have
Another Use Case
Quanto is also used to describe quantity by replacing phrases such as tudo o queall of which , or appearing along with words such as tudoeverything and todosall, every (masc.) to convey a similar meaning.
Depending on the context, this could correspond to various English words, such as: all, everyone, everything, whatever, etc. But if you think about it conceptually, it’s all a very similar meaning, with quanto generally referring to as much as is possible or necessary.
Here are a few examples:
Deram-me quantos sacos tinhamThey gave me all the bags they had, They gave me as many bags as they had
Falei com todos quantos estiveram no baileI spoke to everyone who was at the dance, I spoke to all of those who were at the dance
Vou ajudar com tudo quanto precisarI am going to help with whatever you need, I am going to help with everything you need
This is really difficult.
One thing I’m having trouble with is e.g. “Vou deitar a mão a tantos bombons quantos conseguir” — the second “a” in the sentence doesn’t seem to have any function…?
Well, in English, the sentence says that the person will get their hands on as many candies/chocolates as possible. In Portuguese, that second “a” is the translation of that English preposition “on“, so it’s actually essential 🙂
Ah — I see what you mean! Thank you Joseph!!!
Sure, you’re welcome, Alison!
Can you say “bombons” for all types of candy?
Having an “Aargh!” moment with ‘deitar’. Tried to look up the meaning on bab.la and there seem to be so many that I can’t pin it down! Weeping with frustration here!
Olá, Maggie. To lie (down) or to lay are the most direct translations of deitar, and the verb is usually used reflexively when the meaning is to lie down. The expression “deitar a mão” can be translated as “lay one’s hands on”. So, you can think of the example in the Learning Note as saying “I’m going to lay my hands on as many candies as I can” (Vou deitar a mão a tantos bombons quantos conseguir).
Are all of these the same?
Tenho tanto de comer quanto necessito.
Tenho tanto de comer como necessito.
Tenho quanto de comer necessito.
DeepL gives a slightly different translation for the first version but no change in the meaning.
Olá, Peter. They are all the same, but #3 seems incomplete without “o quanto” or “tanto quanto”, and in any case, sounds awkward and probably destined for books more than real conversations. #2 is ok, but ‘quanto’ (#1) is used more than ‘como’ in this kind of sentence.
‘tanto de comer’ seems odd. Shouldn’t it be ‘ Tenho tanto para comer quanto necesito’?
“Para comer” would definitely be more usual. However, “tanto de comer” is grammatically acceptable (as far as I know!).
Are precisar and necessitar interchangeable or is there a subtle difference
You can consider them interchangeable 🙂 ‘Necessitar’ sounds quite a bit more formal, though, so you’ll hear it less often in casual contexts.
“ levo tantas maçãs quantas tiveres” is the personal inf used due to 2 different subjects?
“Tens tanto trabalho quanto conseguires a fazer”
I do not see the usual trigger words. Depois de ,antes de, por etc and the subjects are the same – is the impersonal inf an option?
I am scared of the upcoming lessons on infinitives and subjunctives!!
Olá! In both cases, what you have is the future subjunctive, not the personal infinitive. Regular/mostly regular verbs have the same form in both, which makes it very hard to distinguish between them. But for irregular verbs, the forms are typically distinct.
For example, the verb ‘conseguir’ is mostly regular, so it has the same form in the personal infinitive and future subjunctive (conseguires). The verb ‘ter’ is irregular; its 2nd-person personal infinitive is ‘teres’, but the future subjunctive is ‘tiveres’, so there’s no confusion there.
I am afraid to ask but why do we use the future subjunctive in these cases as i do not get a sense of uncertainty
Along with the overall structure of the sentence, there is indeed a level of uncertainty around the amount of apples or the amount of work at hand, and a future outlook which makes the future subjunctive suitable in this context 🙂
I get it it is uncertain how many apples will be available ie i doubt he would take a million apples
Thanks as usual
Hi. Looking for the difference between Todo/a/os/as and tudo. I think the latter is invariable? Cheers
Olá. That’s right – “tudo” (everything) is invariable, while “todo” (all, every, entire, whole…) is variable. Here’s a more detailed explanation regarding “todo”: Universal Quantifiers: All or None | Practice Portuguese