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'Ogni', 'qualche' and 'qualsiasi': plural meaning, singular noun

Italian has a small group of words that talk about many things at once but take a singular noun. Ogni casa means every house, qualche amico means a few friends, and qualsiasi cosa means anything at all. The noun stays singular even though you are clearly thinking of several houses, friends or things.

English speakers find this hard mainly because of qualche. English says some friends and a few days, with a plural noun, so learners naturally produce qualche amici. In Italian that is always wrong. The same singular pattern appears in many fixed expressions you will use every day, such as ogni giorno, qualche volta and da qualche parte.

Word list
ogniA1 every ogni + singular noun qualche cosaA1 something qualche + singular cosa qualche voltaA1 sometimes qualche + singular volta ciascunomA2 every ciascuno + singular noun ogni annoA2 yearly ogni + singular anno ogni giornoA2 daily ogni + singular giorno ogni meseA2 monthly ogni + singular mese ogni settimanaA2 weekly ogni + singular settimana ogni voltaA2 every time ogni + singular volta qualsiasiA2 every qualsiasi + singular noun da qualche parteB1 somewhere qualche + singular parte da qualche parteB1 somewhere qualche + singular parte in qualche postoB1 somewhere qualche + singular posto in qualche postoB1 somewhere qualche + singular posto in qualche luogoB2 somewhere qualche + singular luogo in qualche luogoB2 somewhere qualche + singular luogo
How it works

Put the noun in the singular after ogni, ciascuno, qualche and qualsiasi. If those words are the subject of the sentence, the verb is singular too, because it agrees with a singular noun.

Ogni casa ha un giardino.
(Every house has a garden.)
Ieri ho visto qualche amico al bar.
(Yesterday I saw a few friends at the bar.)

With ogni, English also uses a singular noun (every house), so it feels natural. With qualche you have to fight your English instinct. A useful rule of thumb: if you would say some or a few with a plural noun in English, you can use qualche with a singular noun in Italian, or alcuni / alcune with a plural noun (alcuni amici). Just never mix the two.

The words

Ogni and ciascuno both mean every or each. Ogni never changes its form. Ciascuno agrees with the noun in gender: ciascun ragazzo, ciascuna ragazza.

Ciascuna studentessa ha un libro.
(Each student has a book.)

Qualsiasi means any, in the sense of no matter which. It does not change its form and can come before or after the noun.

Puoi scegliere un libro qualsiasi.
(You can choose any book.)
Qualsiasi cosa va bene.
(Anything is fine.)

Many everyday time expressions are built with ogni and a singular noun: ogni giorno, ogni settimana, ogni mese, ogni anno and ogni volta.

Vado in palestra ogni giorno.
(I go to the gym every day.)
Ogni volta che vengo qui, piove.
(Every time I come here, it rains.)

With qualche, you get qualche volta (sometimes, literally some time) and three ways of saying somewhere: da qualche parte, in qualche posto and the more formal in qualche luogo. The noun is always singular.

Qualche volta mangio al ristorante.
(Sometimes I eat at a restaurant.)
Ho lasciato le chiavi da qualche parte.
(I left my keys somewhere.)
Vorrei vivere in qualche posto tranquillo.
(I would like to live somewhere quiet.)
Watch out

The singular rule only covers the noun after these words. It does not make the whole sentence singular. In a time expression like ogni anno, the verb agrees with its own subject, which can easily be plural:

Ogni anno andiamo al mare.
(Every year we go to the seaside.)

There is one exception with ogni: when a number follows it, the noun is plural, as in ogni due giorni (every two days) or ogni tre mesi (every three months).

Qualsiasi can also follow a plural noun. In that case it usually means ordinary or any old:

Non sono persone qualsiasi, sono i miei amici.
(They are not just anybody, they are my friends.)

Qualunque works exactly like qualsiasi. The most common mistake, though, is still the plural after qualche: say qualche giorno, never qualche giorni.

Summary

After ogni, ciascuno, qualche and qualsiasi, use a singular noun, even when you mean several things: ogni giorno, qualche amico, qualsiasi cosa. Take special care with qualche, where English uses a plural. The only regular exception is ogni followed by a number, as in ogni due giorni.