Portuguese Grammar: Plural Indefinite Articles (uns, umas)

In Portuguese, the singular indefinite articles um (a/an, masculine) and uma (a/an, feminine) have plural forms: uns (masculine plural) and umas (feminine plural).

1. Standard Usage: "Some" or "A few"

Generally, the plural forms uns and umas correspond to the English words "some", "a few", or "a number of". They are used to express an unspecified, relatively small quantity of nouns.

• Passei uns dias em São Paulo. (I spent a few days in São Paulo.)
• Preciso comprar umas canetas. (I need to buy some pens.)

2. Special Usage: Approximations ("About" or "Around")

Furthermore, these plural articles serve a distinct and highly common special function when placed directly before a number. In this context, they act as an estimator meaning "about", "around", or "approximately". This numerical approximation is widely used in everyday Brazilian Portuguese to estimate quantities, prices, distances, and times.

• Recebi uns dez telefonemas. (I got about ten phone calls.)
• Deve custar uns cem reais. (It must cost about a hundred reais.)
• Eu volto daqui a umas duas semanas. (I'll be back in about two weeks.)
• A festa vai começar a umas oito horas. (The party'll start around eight.)