Portuguese made easy - adjectives
What you need to know about adjectives
1) Word Order
In Portuguese, unlike in English, adjectives almost always come after the noun.
Examples: Um homem rico (A rich man); Uma banana amarela (a yellow banana), Um homem interessante (an interesting man).
2) Masculine / Feminine / SIngular / Plural
Portuguese adjectives have to "agree" with the noun they are describing. This means that if the noun is masculine singular (eg um homem / "a man") - then the adjective has to be masculine singular too. Or if the noun is feminine plural (for example "umas bananas" / some bananas) then the adjective has to be feminine plural too.
When you learn the words it's best if you learn the masculine singular and then make the changes. It's not difficult:
|
Masculine singular |
“alto” = tall |
alto (= tall) |
|
Masculine plural |
Add an “s” |
altos (= tall) |
|
Feminine singular |
Change the “o” to an “a” |
alta (= tall) |
|
Feminine plural |
Add an “s” |
altas (= tall) |
Study the following chart.
|
PEQUENO = SMALL |
singular |
plural |
|
Masculine ( -o / -os) |
O livro pequeno (the small book) |
Os livros pequenos (the small books) |
|
Feminine (-a / -as) |
A casa pequena (the small house) |
As casas pequenas (the small houses) |
Adjectives ending in "__e" or "__ista"
Adjectives ending in "__e" or "__ista" have the same form for masculine and feminine.
|
Singular |
Plural |
|
O homem forte (the strong man) |
Os homens fortes (the strong men) |
|
A mulher forte (the strong woman) |
As mulheres fortes (the strong women) |
|
O rapaz idealista (the idealistic boy) |
Os rapazes idealistas (the idealitic boys) |
|
A rapariga idealista (the idealistic girl) |
As raparigas idealistas (the idealistic girls) |