Essential Grammar: Mastering Portuguese Adjectives

In this post we’ll tackle an essential grammar point for learners, Portuguese adjectives. The key concept that we’ll learn is adjective agreement. Put simply, Portuguese adjectives must agree with or match the gender and number of the nouns they describe. First, we’ll dig deeper into the concept of adjective agreement. Next, we’ll turn to regular adjectives in Portuguese. Next, we’ll look at some common slightly irregular patterns that the beginner or intermediate student of Portuguese should keep in mind. After that, we’ll focus on adjectives of nationality. Finally, we’ll cover irregular Portuguese adjectives. We’ll include examples and some practice exercises throughout.

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The Basics of Portuguese Adjectives

First, let’s cover the basics. An adjective is a word that describes or modifies or qualifies a noun or pronoun. Adjectives are descriptive words, for example big, beautiful, black, tired, or amazing in English. English nouns don’t have gender, and even though English has number, adjectives don’t change form: a cute dog, cute dogs.

In Brazilian Portuguese, though, adjectives must usually agree with the nouns they describe in both gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).

This means that an adjective often changes its ending depending on whether the noun is:

Masculine singular
Feminine singular
Masculine plural
Feminine plural

For many adjectives, the pattern is very regular, and the endings look just like the definite articles (-o, -a, -os, -as). But there are some special patterns, as well as a few irregular adjectives.

Regular Portuguese Adjectives

Now let’s look at regular Portuguese adjectives. These take endings that are identical to the definite articles.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-o	-a	-os	-as
black	preto	preta	pretos	pretas
beautiful	bonito	bonita	bonitos	bonitas
small	pequeno	pequenas	pequenos	pequenas

As you probably know, most adjectives follow the noun they describe. So we have:

um gato preto, um jardim bonito, um cachorro pequeno
a black cat, a beautiful garden, a small dog
uma gata preta, uma cidade bonita, uma casa pequena
a black female cat, a beautiful city, a small house
gatos pretos, jardins bonitos, cachorros pequenos
black cats, beautiful gardens, small dogs
gatas pretas, cidades bonitas, casas pequenas
black female cats, beautiful cities, small houses

When adjectives appear in full sentences, for example after the verb ser (to be), they still agree with the nouns they describe.

O gato é preto.
The cat is black.
A gata é preta.
The cat is black.
Os gatos são pretos.
The cats are black.
As gatas são pretas.
The cats are black.

Practice 1

Let’s pause to practice. Complete each sentence with the correct form of the adjective in parentheses and then translate.

A casa é (pequeno).
O jardim é (bonito).
As cidades são (bonito).
Os cachorros são (pequeno).
A cidade é (bonito).
O cachorro é (pequeno).
Os jardins são (bonito).
As casas são (pequeno).

Common Alternative Patterns in Portuguese Adjectives

Not all adjectives follow the -o/-a pattern. In this section, we’ll break those down into several smaller categories.

Adjectives Ending in -e

These adjectives do not change for gender. Both singular forms end in –e, and both plural forms end in –es. One example is grande (big).

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-e	-e	-es	-es
big	grande	grande	grandes	grandes
interesting	interessante	interessante	interessantes	interessantes

O carro é grande.
The car is big.
A casa é grande.
The house is big.
Eu gosto de dirigir carros grandes.
I like to drive big cars.
As casas neste país são grandes.
The houses in this country are big.
O livro é interessante.
The book is interesting.
Ela contou uma história interessante.
She told an interesting story.
Eu gosto de ler livros interessantes.
I like to read interesting books.
Eles ouviram histórias interessantes durante a viagem.
They heard interesting stories during the trip.

Adjectives Ending in -r

These usually have a single singular form for both masculine and feminine. The feminine is generally identical to the masculine. The plural forms end in –es. The adjectives popular (popular) and regular (regular) are examples.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-r	-r	-res	-res
popular	popular	popular	populares	populares

Eu moro em um bairro popular.
I live in a popular neighborhood.
Ela é uma cantora popular no Brasil.
She is a popular singer in Brazil.
Os bairros populares costumam ter muitos comércios locais.
Popular neighborhoods usually have many local businesses.
As cantoras populares atraem milhares de fãs.
Popular singers attract thousands of fans.

Adjectives Ending in -z

Portuguese adjectives that end in –z have one form in the singular and add –es in the plural for both masculine and feminine.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-z	-z	-zes	-zes
happy	feliz	feliz	felizes	felizes

O João é um menino feliz.
João is a happy boy.
A Maria é uma menina feliz.
Maria is a happy girl.
Os meninos felizes brincam no parque todos os dias.
The happy boys play in the park every day.
As meninas felizes cantam juntas na escola.
The happy girls sing together at school.

Adjectives in -ão

Portuguese adjectives ending in -ão are an important group. Most of them have distinct feminine forms in –ona(s), and a masculine plural in -oes.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-ão	-ona	-oes	-onas
huge	grandão	grandona	grandões	grandonas
really good-looking	bonitão	bonitona	bonitões	bonitonas

O cachorro é grandão.
The dog is huge.
A casa é grandona.
The house is huge.
Ela está saindo com um rapaz bonitão.
She is dating a really handsome guy.
Todos notaram que ela era uma moça bonitona.
Everyone noticed that she was a very good-looking girl.
Os rapazes bonitões costumam receber muita atenção.
Really handsome guys usually get a lot of attention.
As moças bonitonas apareceram na capa da revista.
The very good-looking girls appeared on the cover of the magazine.

There are a few -ão adjectives that follow a different pattern. These include são (healthy), vão (vain, futile), ancião (elderly), cristão (Christian), pagão (pagan), vilão (villainous), Learners should treat these as exceptions to the more general pattern of -ão adjectives treated above.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-ão	-ã	-ãos	-ãs
healthy, sound	são	sã	sãos	sãs
Christian	cristão	cristã	cristãos	cristãs

mente sã em corpo são
a healthy mind in a healthy body
Ela é sã e forte.
She is healthy and strong.
Visitamos monumentos cristãos famosos.
We visited famous Christian monuments.
O homem ancião e a mulher anciã são meus vizinhos.
The elderly man and the elderly woman are my neighbors.

Practice 2

Let’s pause to practice adjectives ending in –e, –r, –z, and –ão. Give the correct form of the adjective in brackets, then translate the complete sentences.

As casas são [grande].
Meu bairro é [popular].
As meninas estão [feliz].
Nós temos cães [grande].
A cantora é muito [popular].
Os alunos estão [feliz].
Ela mora em uma casa [grande].
Os rapazes são [bonitão].
Aquela moça é [bonitão].
As crianças são [chorão]. (chorão = crybaby)
Meu irmão é [feliz].
As mulheres são [trabalhador].

Adjectives Ending in -l

Many Portuguese adjectives end in –l, and in general they have one singular form but drop the l in the plural before the ending –is. But there’s one wrinkle, so we’ll divide these adjectives into two groups.

Adjectives in -al, -el, -ul

Most adjectives ending in -l have one singular form and replace -l with –is in the plural.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-l	-l	-is	-is
cool, nice	legal	legal	legais	legais
cruel	cruel	cruel	cruéis	cruéis
blue	azul	azul	azuis	azuis

Eu gosto deste suéter azul, mas não gosto daqueles suéteres azuis.
I like this blue sweater, but I don’t like those blue sweaters.
Que legal!
How cool! / That’s great!
Elas são muito legais.
They’re really nice.
As irmãs dela são cruéis, mas ela não é cruel.
Her sisters are cruel, but she isn’t cruel.

Note that there are only a few adjectives ending in –ol, and they tend to be technical, for example aerosol (aerosol). The adjective espanhol (Spanish) belongs to nationalities, which we’ll cover below.

Adjectives in -il

Adjectives in –il have one form in the singular, and a plural that ends in –eis or -is, depending on where the stress falls.

Stress Not on Final Syllable

If the stress is not on the final syllable, the plural ending is –eis. Three common examples are fácil (easy), difícil (difficult), and útil (useful). You can recognize these adjectives because they will have a stress on a vowel before the final syllable.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-l	-l	-eis	-eis
easy	fácil	fácil	fáceis	fáceis

O exercício é fácil.
The exercise is easy.
Os exercícios são fáceis.
The exercises are easy.
As perguntas difíceis aparecem no exame final.
The difficult questions appear on the final exam.
Os mapas úteis estão na mesa.
The useful maps are on the table.

Stress on Final Syllable

If an adjective in –il has the stress on the final syllable, the plural ending is –is. You can easily recognize these adjectives because there is no accent, so the stress naturally falls on the final syllable.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-l	-l	-is	-is
kind	gentil	gentil	gentis	gentis

Ele ainda tem uma atitude juvenil.
He still has a youthful attitude.
A funcionária foi muito gentil comigo.
The employee was very kind to me.
Os estudantes participaram de várias atividades juvenis.
The students participated in various youth activities.
As diferenças eram sutis, mas importantes.
The differences were subtle, but important.

Practice 3

Change the adjective in brackets to the correct form, then translate the complete sentences.

Os exercícios são [fácil].
A ferramenta é [útil].
As perguntas são [difícil].
Os alunos fizeram comentários [gentil].
As atitudes dele são muito [juvenil].
Os turistas compraram mapas [útil].

Adjectives of Nationality

In this section we’ll look at Portuguese adjectives of nationality. Many follow the regular –o, -a, –os, –as pattern, but there are several other patterns. One important note about all Portuguese adjectives of nationality is that they aren’t capitalized:

Nationalities Ending in -o

First let’s start with the nationality adjectives that follow the completely regular pattern, for example brazileiro (Brazilian), mexicano (Mexican), italiano (Italian), and argentino (Argentinian).

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-o	-a	-os	-as
Brazilian	brasileiro	brasileira	brasileiros	brasileiras

As empresas brasileiras exportam café.
Brazilian companies export coffee.
Ele é mexicano. Ela é mexicana.
He is Mexican. She is Mexican.
Os restaurantes italianos são populares.
Italian restaurants are popular.
As cidades argentinas são interessantes.
Argentine cities are interesting.

Nationalities Ending in -ês

Many nationality adjectives end in -ês. The feminine is formed by replacing -ês with -esa, without the accent. The masculine plural ending is –eses, also without the accent.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-ês	-esa	-eses	-esas
Portuguese	português	portuguesa	portugueses	portuguesas

Nossos vizinhos são portugueses.
Our neighbords Portuguese.
Ela é portuguesa.
She is Portuguese.
Os restaurantes franceses são famosos.
French restaurants are famous.
As escolas inglesas são antigas.
The English schools are old.

Nationalities Ending in -e

Many nationality adjectives ending in -e do not change for gender. They end in –e in the singular and –es in the plural. Two examples are canadense (Canadian) and estadunidense (American, from the United States).

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-e	-e	-es	-es
Canadian	canadense	canadense	canadenses	canadenses

Ele é canadense. Ela é canadense.
He is Canadian. She is Canadian.
Os turistas estadunidenses chegaram ontem.
The American tourists arrived yesterday.
As atletas canadenses venceram a competição.
The Canadian athletes won the competition.
A cultura estadunidense é muito influente.
U.S. culture is very influential.

Nationalities Ending in -ol

Nationality adjectives ending in -ol form the feminine in -ola(s). The masculine plural ends in –óis.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-ol	-ola	-óis	-olas
Spanish	espanhol	espanhola	espanhóis	espanholas

Visitamos um museu espanhol.
We visited a Spanish museum.
Ela trabalha para uma empresa espanhola.
She works for a Spanish company.
Os artistas espanhóis são conhecidos no mundo todo.
Spanish artists are known throughout the world.
As cidades espanholas são muito bonitas.
Spanish cities are very beautiful.

Nationalities Ending in -ão

Some nationality adjectives ending in -ão form the feminine in -ã.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-ão	-ã	-ães	-ãs
German	alemão	alemã	alemães	alemãs

Ele comprou um carro alemão.
He bought a German car.
Ela trabalha para uma empresa alemã.
She works for a German company.
Os produtos alemães são populares.
German products are popular.
As universidades catalãs são renomadas.
The Catalan universities are renowned.

Nationalities Ending in -a

Some nationality adjectives have a single form in –a(s) for both masculine and feminine.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
	-a	-a	-as	-as
Belgian	belga	belga	belgas	belgas

Ele é belga. Ela é belga.
He is Belgian. She is Belgian.
Os diplomatas belgas chegaram cedo.
The Belgian diplomats arrived early.
As artistas croatas participaram do festival.
The Croatian artists participated in the festival.

Practice 4

Now let’s practice nationalities. Change the adjective in brackets to the correct form, then translate.

Ela é [francês].
Os restaurantes são [italiano].
A empresa é [alemão].
Os estudantes são [canadense].
As cidades são [espanhol].
Ele é [português].
As professoras são [brasileiro].
Os turistas são [inglês].
A cantora é [mexicano].
As atletas são [belga].
Os carros são [alemão].
A escritora é [catalão].

Irregular Adjectives

The two common adjectives bom (good) and mau (bad) are irregular.

	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. plural	fem. plural.
good	bom	boa	bons	boas
bad	mau	má	maus	más

professor é bom. A professora é boa.
The teacher is good. The teacher is good.
motorista é mau. A motorista é má.
The driver is bad. The driver is bad.
Os restaurantes desta cidade são muito bons.
The restaurants in this city are very good.
As professoras são boas e pacientes.
The teachers are good and patient.

Practice 5

Now let’s practice the forms of bom (good) and mau (bad).

As professoras são [bom].
O motorista é [mau].
Os restaurantes são [bom].
As condições climáticas estão [mau].
A aluna é [bom].
Os vizinhos são [mau].

Invariable Adjectives

Finally, some Portuguese adjectives are invariable, meaning the never change form. Several of them are colors derived from nouns or borrowed from other languages: rosa/cor-de-rosa (pink), laranja/cor-de-laranja (orange), violeta (violet), bege (beige), turquesa (turquoise), vinho (burgundy), salmão (salmon).

A camisa rosa é muito bonita.
The pink shirt is very beautiful.
As flores rosa estão no jardim.
The pink flowers are in the garden.
Eu comprei um carro laranja.
I bought an orange car.
As bicicletas laranja pertencem à escola.
The orange bicycles belong to the school.
Ela está usando uma blusa turquesa.
She is wearing a turquoise blouse.
Os azulejos turquesa decoram a cozinha.
The turquoise tiles decorate the kitchen.
Ele prefere uma gravata vinho.
He prefers a burgundy tie.
As cortinas vinho combinam com os móveis.
The burgundy curtains match the furniture.

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Answer Key

1:

1. A casa é pequena. The house is small. 2. O jardim é bonito. The garden is beautiful. 3. As cidades são bonitas. The cities are beautiful. 4. Os cachorros são pequenos. The dogs are small. 5. A cidade é bonita. The city is beautiful. 6. O cachorro é pequeno. The dog is small. 7. Os jardins são bonitos. The gardens are beautiful. 8. As casas são pequenas. The houses are small.

2:

1. As casas são grandes. The houses are big. 2. Meu bairro é popular. My neighborhood is popular. 3. As meninas estão felizes. The girls are happy. 4. Nós temos cães grandes. We have big dogs. 5. A cantora é muito popular. The singer is very popular. 6. Os alunos estão felizes. The students are happy. 7. Ela mora em uma casa grande. She lives in a big house. 8. Os rapazes são bonitões. The boys are very handsome. 9. Aquela moça é bonitona. That young woman is really/very good-looking. 10. As crianças são choronas. The children are crybabies. 11. Meu irmão é feliz. My brother is happy. 12. As mulheres são trabalhadoras. The women are hardworking.

3:

1. Os exercícios são fáceis. The exercises are easy. 2. A ferramenta é útil. The tool is useful. 3. As perguntas são difíceis. The questions are difficult. 4. Os alunos fizeram comentários gentis. The students made kind comments. 5. As atitudes dele são muito juvenis. His attitudes are very youthful. 6. Os turistas compraram mapas úteis. The tourists bought useful maps.

4:

1. Ela é francesa. She is French. 2. Os restaurantes são italianos. The restaurants are Italian. 3. A empresa é alemã. The company is German. 4. Os estudantes são canadenses. The students are Canadian. 5. As cidades são espanholas. The cities are Spanish. 6. Ele é português. He is Portuguese. 7. As professoras são brasileiras. The teachers are Brazilian. 8. Os turistas são ingleses. The tourists are English. 9. A cantora é mexicana. The singer is Mexican. 10. As atletas são belgas. The athletes are Belgian. 11. Os carros são alemães. The cars are German. 12. A escritora é catalã. The writer is Catalan.

5:

1. As professoras são boas. The teachers are good. 2. O motorista é mau. The driver is bad. 3. Os restaurantes são bons. The restaurants are good. 4. As condições climáticas estão más. The weather conditions are bad. 5. A aluna é boa. The student is good. 6. Os vizinhos são maus. The neighbors are bad.

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