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Adjectives (Number (Adjectives ending in a vowel add an -s in the plural:…
Adjectives
Number
-
In matters of number, adjectives tend to follow the same rules as nouns
Adjectives ending in a consonant (-r, -s, -z) add -es: maior - maiores; francês franceses; capaz - capazes;
Note: The plural form of adjectives ending in -ês loses the circumflex accent !
Most adjectives ending in -ão change into -ões, a few into -ães and even fewer into -ãos: espertalhão - espertalhões; alemão alemães; são sãos
-
Adjectives ending in -al, -el, -ol and -ul change into -ais, -eis, -ois and -uis (see 2.3.5): leal leais loyal cruel crueis cruel espanhol espanhois Spanish azul azuis blue
Adjectives ending in stressed -il form their plural by changing into -is: imbeci- imbecis
But adjectives ending in unstressed -il change into -eis in the plural: útil - úteis; versátil - versáteis
Adjectives ending in -s have the same form in both singular and plural: uma canção simples/duas canções simples;
Gender
In matters of gender, adjectives tend to follow the same rules as nouns
As a rule, adjectives have a feminine form in -a (especially adjectives ending in -o, -ês, -or and -u): magro - magra;inglês - inglesa; encantador encantadora;
But some adjectives ending in -or have the same form for both the masculine and the feminine: anterior - anterior; bicolor - bicolour !
And the same happens with the comparative form of adjectives: maior; inferior; menor; melhor !
Adjectives ending in -ão can have feminine forms in -ã, -oa or -ona: alemão - alemã; beirão - beiroa
Adjectives ending in -eu have a feminine form in -eia: europeu europeia; ateu ateia
But : judeu judia !
However, most adjectives ending in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -s and -z in the masculine keep the same form in the feminine: doce ; cruel; verde
Agreement
In Portuguese, adjectives always agree in gender and number with the nouns they qualify: a língua e a cultura portuguesas
But if the nouns are of different gender, the adjective goes into the masculine plural: as mulheres e os homens britânicos; O livro e a caneta são novos
If the nouns are of different number, the adjective changes to plural and agrees with the gender of the nouns it is qualifying, remembering that the masculine takes precedence over the feminine: os cães e o gato vadios; a revista e os livros franceses
Degree
The comparative
Superiority : mais . . . (do) que
Equality : tão . . . como; tão . . . quanto
Inferiority : menos . . . (do) que
Note: Do que is used to compare nouns, and que is used to compare adjectives.
The adverbs mais and menos may be reinforced by ainda , muito or bem
The superlative
The relative superlative
The relative superlative of superiority:
o, a, os, as mais ... de/que: A Ana é a rapariga mais camarada da turma
The relative superlative of inferiority: o, a, os, as menos . . . de/que: O Jorge é o rapaz menos camarada que alguma vez conheci
The absolute superlative is usually formed by adding the suffix -íssimo to the adjective: O Gustavo é engraçadíssimo
The absolute superlative can also be formed by placing an appropriate adverb before the adjective: O Gustavo é muito engraçado
Muito is the most commonly used adverb, but the following list can help to enrich your use of Portuguese:
bastante - very
extremamente - extremely excepcionalmente - exceptionally grandemente - greatly
excessivamente - excessively imensamente - immensely extraordinariamente - extraordinarily terrivelmente - terribly
Position in the sentence
In Portuguese, adjectives usually follow the noun.
um tecido sedoso; um livro grande; uma mulher holandesa