In this lesson, we’ll take a look at quantificadores interrogativos (interrogative quantifiers), which are simply the question words you’ll use to ask about quantities.
These include the following words, which are modified to match the gender and number of the items in question:
Quanto?How much?(masc.)
Quanta?How much?(fem.)
Quantos?How many?(masc.)
Quantas?How many?(fem.)
Word order tip: Unlike English, Portuguese quantifiers do not always come at the beginning of the sentence. They can sit before or after the verb, as you’ll see in the examples below.
How much?
When used to question a quantity, quanto? and quanta? are the singular form equivalents to “how much?” in English.
Examples:
Quanto gastaste ontem?How much did you spend yesterday?
É precisa quanta lã para umas luvas?How much wool is needed for a pair of gloves?
How many?
Quantos? and quantas? are the plural forms, and they correspond to “how many?”.
Examples:
Quantos amigos teus convidaste?How many of your friends did you invite?
São necessárias quantas folhas?How many sheets are needed?
Comments
Would this be a valid alternative to the example above?
Quantas folhas são necessárias?
Yes, it would. No difference at all.
And likewise as above could you then also put:
“Quanta la precisa para umas uvas?” For me that would sound more logical.
And then I guess I could say “um par de luvas” I hope, and then this at first incomprehensible phrase for me would make complete sense.
Really looking forward to your answer and thanks in advance.
Yes to both, Martin 🙂
Why is it “De quanta madeira precisam” and not “Quanta madeira precisam”?
The preposition is required by the verb ‘precisar’ in this context. A complete answer to the question would also include the preposition for that reason.
– De quanta madeira precisam? / Precisamos de [X quantity].
Thanks Joseph, a little bit of thinking on my side might have helped.
Quanto e que são os portes de envio.
Porque não é: Quantos?
Obrigado
Nessa frase, o foco é o custo do envio. Quando falamos do custo/preço de algo, utilizamos o singular “quanto”, que corresponde ao inglês “how much”. “O plural “quantos…?” só se aplica em contextos onde queremos perguntar “how many…?”.
Obrigado Joseph, como sempre a sua resposta é clara.