Question on ALGUNO vs. ALGO DE and NINGUNO

Hello again,

i am learning about alguno

i think as an adjective use algún with nouns

algún día 

Why cant you say 

algún dinero , some money

its keeps throwing up algo de dinero

also ninguna otra razón,  i have ningún and ninguna as 

not any , not a single one , is it just used as ( no ) as well, and would you use these two words for all negatives with nouns  like ningún perro.   no dogs 

also algo de before infinitives , algo de comer , whats that about.

sorry for the length

thanks. 

¡Hola VR143!

(I've split this question out from the previous thread just to help other users to find it more easily.)

I'll divide my answer up into sections to make this easier to follow!

1. Algún dinero vs. Algo de dinero

You’re right to say that algún is an adjective. It comes before nouns when you’re talking about something and you aren’t being specific. So, for example, if you say algún día, you’re talking about a non-specific day (i.e. “someday”), and if you say algunas personas, then you’re talking about non-specific people (i.e. “some people”).

This means that if you say algún dinero, then you’re talking about non-specific money. And it is possible to say this; for example, you could say something like No sé si tiene algún dinero en su cuenta “(I) don’t know if (he) has any money in his account.” However, often when you say “some / any money,” you’re referring to a non-specific amount of money, and that’s what algo de indicates. It essentially means “a bit of / any of.” For example, Necesitamos algo de dinero “We need some money” is more literally like saying “We need a bit of money” (i.e. “We need a (non-specified amount) of money”).

So a good rule of thumb is to use algo de with a noun when you’re talking about a non-specific, uncountable amount (e.g. algo de tiempo “some time / a bit of time,” algo de comida “some food / a bit of food,” algo de ropa “some clothing / a bit of clothing,” etc.).

2. Algo de + [Infinitive]

As for algo de before an infinitive, you can use it to mean “something to” in phrases like algo de comer “something to eat” and algo de beber “something to drink.” Once again, it’s representing an undefined amount of something.

3. Ningún and ninguna

These adjectives have a few possible translations, including “none,” “not any,” “not a single,” and, indeed, “no” – as in No tengo ningún tiempo “(I) have no time / (I) don’t have any time.” Since they are adjectives, you do indeed put them before nouns, and you can say things like No vemos ningún perro “(We) don’t see any dogs / (We) don’t see a single dog.”

For more information on alguno and ninguno, you may find it helpful to check out Lesson #11.8.

I hope that this answers your questions! 

Hasta la próxima,

Liss

P.S. - I nearly forgot to mention: I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say that “it keeps throwing up algo de dinero” for “some money,” but do keep in mind that translation engines and the like aren't entirely reliable, and they will often only show you the most common translation they've found - not every translation that is possible, and not necessarily the translation that will work for your context. So it's best to avoid relying on them as much as you can! 

I hope that that helps! :)  

Thanks Liss,

sorry its my phrasing, it keeps throwing up, i mean the phrase that keeps coming up for

some money is algo de dinero, and i wondered why it was this and not algún dinero but you explained brilliantly again.

i have completed lesson 11.8 that's why   a few things keep popping up in my head .

 Regarding ninguno.

the examples you gave are great , and i get them now,and they are the middle of sentences,  but what i really need explaining is .

ninguna otra razón

ninguna is at the beginning and is acting as NO , so why cant you say ningún perro, no dogs, or can you?

Thank you again.

¡Hola VR143!

I'm glad that the explanation above has been helpful!

For your question about ningún perro, I think I see what you mean now. If you were to say Ningún perro "No dogs / Not a single dog" as a sentence by itself, it would essentially be a sentence fragment - like Ninguna otra razón "No other reason" is. So you'd probably only really use it to answer something someone else said - for instance, they might ask ¿No tiene ningún perro? "He doesn't have a single dog?" and you might confirm Ningún perro "Not a single dog," or something like that.

If you were thinking of "No dogs" as more of a rule or a request on a sign, something like No se permiten perros "Dogs are not permitted / No dogs allowed" would be more natural.

I hope that this helps! Do let me know if you still have questions about it!

Saludos,

Liss