It is common for Spanish speakers to use the expressions like cualquier, cualquiera, and de todos modos. After all, they are a part of their everyday lives. They generally use them to perform actions, or to state a thing, person or situation. However, it’s important to know that cualquiera and cualquier has no relationship with de todos modos.
Since many Spanish students get confused with these expressions. Today, in this brief explanation, we will show you how to use cualquier, cualquiera, and de todos modos. Also, some of their different uses and rules.
How to use cualquier
The word cualquier is an indefinite adjective. It denotes that a person or thing referred to is indeterminate. Cualquier is the masculine version of the word cualquiera and we can use it before the singular noun. We can build a simple formula like the one below.
Cualquier + singular noun
Let’s see a few examples,
El doctor me dijo que podía tomar cualquier tipo de medicamento.
The doctor told me that I could take any kind of medicine.
Tenemos que considerar cualquier punto de vista para poder resolver la situación.
We have to consider any point of view to resolve the situation.
En cualquier lado puedes conseguir ese libro, quizás no lo estás buscando bien.
You can get that book anywhere, maybe you’re not looking right.
Nevertheless, one of the most common ways to use the word cualquier. Is to give it a sense of any way, anyhow, in any case, or either way. For example,
Cualquier cosa es mejor que nos vayamos con Pedro, porque el carro de Raul es muy pequeño y no vamos a entrar todos.
Anyway, it’s better if we go with Pedro, because Raúl’s car is very small and we’re not all going to get in.
De cualquier forma, siempre puedes decirles que estabas enferma, que tenias muchas náuseas y no podías parar de vomitar.
Either way, you can always tell them that you were sick, that you were very nauseous and couldn’t stop throwing up.
Si necesitan cualquier cosa, llamen a Miranda, ella es quien les puede explicar bien el procedimiento para sacar el pasaporte.
If you need anything, call Miranda, she’s the one who can explain the procedure to get the passport.
Note, when the adjective appears before a noun, it is in the singular and we must use cualquier. In this case, it does not matter if the noun is masculine or feminine.
There is a way we can use cualquier in negative sentences. For example,
No cualquier hombre hace lo que él hizo por ti, debes cuidarlo y valorarlo mucho. /
Not any man does what he did for you, you must take care of him and value him a lot.
How to use cualquiera
When we talk about the word cualquiera, it can appear after a singular noun. But, in some cases, cualquiera needs the indefinite article un or una. In this scenario, it does not matter whether it is masculine or feminine as in the word cualquier. Moreover, we can use cualquiera in negative and affirmative sentences. A formula for this could be like this,
Singular noun + cualquiera
Here are some examples below,
Mi mama tiene miedo de que cualquiera pueda venir a lastimarme. Ella aun no cree que yo sea lo suficientemente fuerte e inteligente como para distinguir eso.
My mom is afraid that anyone could come to hurt me. She still doesn’t think I’m strong and smart enough to distinguish that.
Finlandia no es un país cualquiera, forma parte de unos de los países con mayor tecnología en el mundo, superando a Japón.
Finland is not just any country, it is part of one of the countries with the highest technology in the world, surpassing Japan.
Julia hizo más que cualquiera de los hombres en la carrera de 10 kilómetros, se merecía ese primer premio.
Julia did more than any of the men in the 10K race, she deserved that first prize.
On the flip side, to use the word cualquiera in a negative sentence, we must add the adverb of negation “no”. For example,
Esta habilidad toma cierto aprendizaje y no cualquiera puede hacerlo exitosamente.
This ability takes some learning and not everyone can do it successfully.
Note, we can use cualesquiera for the plural of cualquier and cualquiera. Although, this is not very common among Spanish speakers. We can use this adjective before or after the noun, it means that it does not affect the order in which it is. For example,
Compra dos helados cualesquiera. / Buy any two ice creams.
How to use de todos modos
There are many ways we can use de todos modos. One of them is as an opposition connector. This type of connector reaffirms an action of adversity in the sentence. Although we know we can’t handle this adversity, we end up doing it. We can also use de todos modos as an addition connector since it allows us to add more information to the sentence we are saying.
Let’s see some examples below,
No es recomendable salir de noche, pero de todos modos debo ir a buscar a mi hermana.
It’s not recommended to go out at night, but I still have to go find my sister.
Es cierto, pero de todos modos la iglesia no ha dado una declaración sobre eso.
That’s true, but the church hasn’t given a statement on that anyway.
De todos modos él era demasiado joven para usted, no hubiese funcionado.
He was too young for you anyway, it wouldn’t have worked.
Moreover, we can use de todos modos to state that a statement explains or supports a previous statement. For example,
Gracias de todos modos. / Thank you anyway.
Sometimes, Spanish speakers use “de cualquier manera” or “de cualquier modo” as an equivalent to “de todos modos”.
In summary, de todos modos is the Spanish expression for any way or for any case. Whereas cualquiera and cualquier can be the word “any” in English. Always remember that you can use cualquier only with the masculine and never with the feminine since that’s what cualquiera is for.
Also, to be able to differentiate when to use cualquier or cualquiera depends on the place of the noun. While de todos modos doesn’t have a fixed grammatical structure, so we can put it anywhere.