Adjectives: agreement and position

Portuguese adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number and usually come after it: um carro novo, uma casa nova, casas novas. In English adjectives never change and go before the noun.

Before or after the noun?

• After the noun is the normal place, especially for colour, nationality, shape and type: um vestido azul, a comida brasileira.
• A few common adjectives often go first: bom, mau, grande, pequeno, novo, velho: um bom livro, uma grande cidade.
• Some change meaning with position: um homem grande (a big man) / um grande homem (a great man); um carro novo (brand-new) / um novo carro (another, different car).
• With a mixed group of masculine and feminine nouns, use the masculine plural: o pai e a mãe são altos.

Examples

• Ela tem olhos verdes.She has green eyes.
• A comida portuguesa é ótima.Portuguese food is great.
• Moramos numa casa pequena.We live in a small house.
• É um bom restaurante.It’s a good restaurant.
• As ruas são estreitas e bonitas.The streets are narrow and pretty.

Common mistakes

• ✗ Ela é muito alto.✓ Ela é muito alta.The adjective agrees with ela, so it takes the feminine -a; English “tall” has one form, so learners forget to change it.
• ✗ Tenho um vermelho carro.✓ Tenho um carro vermelho.Colour adjectives follow the noun in Portuguese; putting them first, as in English “a red car”, sounds wrong.
• ✗ As casas são caro.✓ As casas são caras.The adjective agrees in number as well as gender, so a plural feminine noun needs -as; English adjectives never take a plural ending.
• ✗ Ela é inglês.✓ Ela é inglesa.Nationality adjectives in -ês add -a for women: inglesa, portuguesa; in English “English” is the same for everyone.
• ✗ Os exercícios são fácils.✓ Os exercícios são fáceis.Adjectives in -il form the plural in -eis, not -ls: fácil → fáceis; adding -s the English way gives a form that does not exist.