"Eu quero fazer alguma coisa por ele."

Translation: I want to do something for him.

[a.vickers]

Couldn't this be 'I want to make something for him'?

[Danmoller]

If you say do, you will probably understand that you are giving him some help, then you use "por".

If you say make, you will probably understand that you are cooking something, then you use "para".

[Paulenrique]

Yup... fazer is both make and do in Portuguese

[wimatoka]

Paulenrique. In the ,,oxford escolar para estudiantes brasileiros de inglês,, the translation for 'alguma coisa'' is " something, anything. So please explain me why you disagree to the dictionary.

[Paulenrique]

Yes. Alguma coisa = something/anything.

Let us see:

• I want to drink something (quero beber alguma coisa) - affirmative sentence.
• Do you want to drink anything/something? (Você quer beber alguma coisa?) - INTERROGATIVE sentence.
• I want to drink anything (quero beber qualquer coisa) - AFFIRMATIVE sentence.
• I don't want anything (não quero nada) - NEGATIVE sentence.

Anything has many translations in Portuguese, ir depends if the sentence is affirmative, negative or interrogative. So, anything also means "alguma coisa", but not in this sentence.

[FelizitasS]

Thank you, that is very helpful. In English I learned "anything" is also used when you expect a negative answer. "Something " is used, when you expect a positive answer.
Example: Do you want to drink anything (expected answer: no) or do you want to drink "something" (expected answer: yes)
Is that in Portuguese likewise? Thank you