One of the first surprises for English speakers learning Portuguese is that English -ing adjectives don't translate literally. "An interesting book" — um livro interessante. "A boring film" — um filme aborrecido. "Running water" — água corrente. "A smiling woman" — uma mulher a sorrir or uma mulher sorridente, not uma mulher sorrindo. Portuguese, unlike English, does not freely derive adjectives from its gerund form. Instead, it has a fixed stock of verbal adjectives — words ending in -nte or -dor/-dora that came from Latin present participles or agent nouns — and that stock has to be learned rather than generated.
This page covers the two productive families of verbal adjectives (-nte and -dor), explains why the gerund (-ando/-endo/-indo) doesn't function as an adjective in European Portuguese, and surveys the alternatives that native speakers actually use.
Why English -ing doesn't have a direct Portuguese equivalent
In English, any verb can form an adjective in -ing: a thinking machine, a flying fox, a running joke, an exciting moment, a boring conversation. Portuguese works differently. Its gerund (pensando, voando, correndo, aborrecendo) is a purely verbal form — it describes how an action is happening, not a quality of an entity.
Ela estava a pensar na sua viagem.
She was thinking about her trip. (verbal action)
É uma mulher pensadora, muito refletida.
She's a thoughtful / reflective woman. (quality)
Ontem ouvi uma música emocionante.
Yesterday I heard a moving / stirring piece of music. (quality)
Where English uses -ing as both verbal form and adjective, Portuguese keeps the two functions separate. The -nte and -dor endings carry the adjectival load; the gerund (or the PT-PT favourite a + infinitive) carries the verbal load.
The -nte family: quality adjectives
Portuguese has a large stock of adjectives in -nte (masculine and feminine the same form), derived historically from Latin present participles. They describe a permanent or characterising quality — the entity is one that performs the action.
| Verb | Adjective in -nte | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| interessar | interessante | interesting |
| surpreender | surpreendente | surprising |
| emocionar | emocionante | moving, thrilling |
| estimular | estimulante | stimulating |
| exigir | exigente | demanding |
| brilhar | brilhante | brilliant, shining |
| sofrer | sofredor / sofrente (rare) | suffering |
| urgir | urgente | urgent |
| convencer | convincente | convincing |
| preocupar | preocupante | worrying |
| atuar | atuante | active, operating |
| flutuar | flutuante | floating, fluctuating |
| existir | existente | existing |
| praticar | praticante | practising |
| constranger | constrangedor (rare: constrangente) | embarrassing |
Foi a palestra mais interessante do congresso — todos aplaudiram de pé.
It was the most interesting talk at the conference — everyone gave a standing ovation.
Preciso que me traga o relatório urgente — é para a reunião de amanhã.
I need you to bring me the urgent report — it's for tomorrow's meeting.
Este café é estimulante; dormi pouco e preciso mesmo dele.
This coffee is stimulating; I didn't sleep much and I really need it.
O Tiago é um estudante exigente consigo próprio.
Tiago is a student who is demanding of himself.
The -dor / -dora family: agent adjectives and nouns
The other productive verbal adjective family uses -dor (masculine) / -dora (feminine). These forms derive from agent nouns — "someone who does X" — and they can function either as nouns or as adjectives.
| Verb | Masc. | Fem. | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| trabalhar | trabalhador | trabalhadora | hard-working / worker |
| conservar | conservador | conservadora | conservative |
| pensar | pensador | pensadora | thoughtful, a thinker |
| educar | educador | educadora | educational, educator |
| lutar | lutador | lutadora | fighting, a fighter |
| vencer | vencedor | vencedora | winning, winner |
| falar | falador | faladora | talkative |
| comer | comedor | comedora | (big) eater |
| sonhar | sonhador | sonhadora | dreamer, dreamy |
| amar | amador | amadora | amateur; loving (rare) |
| comover | comovedor | comovedora | moving, touching |
| assustar | assustador | assustadora | frightening |
| cansar | cansador (BR-leaning, rare PT) | — | tiring |
A minha irmã é muito trabalhadora — está sempre a fazer algo.
My sister is very hard-working — she's always doing something.
Foi uma história muito comovedora; chorámos todos no cinema.
It was a very moving story; we all cried at the cinema.
Ele tem uma expressão assustadora, mas é uma pessoa simpática.
He has a frightening expression, but he's a friendly person.
Os partidos conservadores perderam votos nas últimas eleições.
The conservative parties lost votes in the last elections.
-nte versus -dor: is there a difference?
For many verbs you have, or could have, both forms. Is there a distinction?
In practice, -nte is more adjectival and describes the effect something has on others (interessante — interesting to others), while -dor is more noun-like and describes the agent ("one who does X"). Compare:
| -nte (effect/quality) | -dor (agent) |
|---|---|
| um livro interessante (an interesting book) | — (no agent counterpart) |
| uma música emocionante (moving music) | — |
| — (no -nte form) | um trabalhador (a worker) |
| — (no -nte form) | uma pensadora (a thinker) |
| um falante nativo (a native speaker) | uma pessoa faladora (a talkative person) |
Sou falante nativo de português.
I'm a native speaker of Portuguese. (using -nte as a noun)
O meu vizinho é muito falador; conta a história da vida a toda a gente.
My neighbour is very talkative; he tells his life story to everyone. (using -dor as an adjective)
For any given verb, one form usually dominates — you just have to learn which. There is no rule that lets you generate the right form from scratch.
The gerund is not a productive adjective
In English, any verb's -ing form can become an adjective: running water, flying leaves, boiling soup, crying child. In European Portuguese, the gerund (correndo, voando, fervendo, chorando) describes how an action is happening, not a quality of the thing. You cannot freely use it as an adjective.
❌ Uma menina chorando entrou na sala.
Marginal/BR — this structure is acceptable but sounds Brazilian or literary in PT-PT.
✅ Uma menina a chorar entrou na sala.
A crying girl came into the room.
❌ Vi uma ave voando sobre o lago.
Acceptable but Brazilian-flavoured.
✅ Vi uma ave a voar sobre o lago. / Vi uma ave voadora? (no — 'voadora' means 'flying' as a type).
I saw a bird flying over the lake.
The European Portuguese idiomatic equivalent is a + infinitive: a chorar, a voar, a correr. This is an adverbial modifier describing the ongoing action, not an adjective — but it does the same job English does with -ing.
Está a chover a cântaros — não podemos ir à praia.
It's pouring — we can't go to the beach.
Vi o vizinho a regar as plantas da varanda.
I saw my neighbour watering the plants on the balcony.
Frozen gerund-adjectives
A very small number of gerunds have crystallised into fixed adjectives or noun modifiers in European Portuguese. Don't generalise from these — they are lexical exceptions.
| Set phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| água corrente | running water |
| uma conta corrente | a current account |
| no passado ano transato | in the preceding past year (formal) |
| vigente (from viger) | in force, current |
| constante, crescente, pendente | constant, growing, pending (all now pure adjectives) |
Corrente is actually an -nte form from correr, not a gerund. It was reanalysed as an adjective centuries ago and is now used in fixed phrases: água corrente, conta corrente, opinião corrente.
A casa tem água corrente e luz, mas não tem aquecimento central.
The house has running water and electricity, but no central heating.
A lei vigente não permite fumar em cafés.
The current law doesn't allow smoking in cafés.
Participles as nouns
Many -nte and -dor forms double as nouns referring to the person or thing that performs the action.
| Noun | Meaning |
|---|---|
| o estudante / a estudante | student |
| o imigrante | immigrant |
| o amante / a amante | lover |
| o habitante | inhabitant |
| o praticante | practitioner |
| o participante | participant |
| o trabalhador / a trabalhadora | worker |
| o vencedor / a vencedora | winner |
| o pintor / a pintora | painter |
| o escritor / a escritora | writer |
Há cerca de quinze mil estudantes na universidade.
There are around fifteen thousand students at the university.
Os habitantes da aldeia são todos agricultores.
The inhabitants of the village are all farmers.
O vencedor do prémio foi um jovem escritor brasileiro.
The winner of the prize was a young Brazilian writer.
Context tells you whether a form is being used as noun or adjective. Estudante, like student in English, can be either:
A minha filha estudante mora em Coimbra. (adjective-like)
My student daughter lives in Coimbra.
A minha filha é estudante em Coimbra. (noun)
My daughter is a student in Coimbra.
Register and style
Most -nte adjectives are register-neutral — they are used freely in both writing and speech. A few are on the formal or learned side and sound a bit stiff in casual conversation.
| Adjective | Register |
|---|---|
| interessante | neutral |
| emocionante | neutral |
| excelente | neutral |
| incidente (as adj., rare) | formal, technical |
| vigente | formal |
| atuante | formal / technical |
| concorrente | neutral |
| actuante (old spelling) | — |
In everyday speech, colloquial alternatives often win over more formal -nte or -dor adjectives:
- aborrecido (= boring, annoying) is the everyday word; aborrecente barely exists.
- chato (= boring, annoying) is the most colloquial.
- fixe (= cool) beats literary interessante in youth speech.
Foi um filme chatíssimo — adormeci a meio.
It was a really boring film — I fell asleep halfway through.
Achei aquela palestra super interessante.
I found that talk super interesting.
English -ing: mapping to Portuguese
Because English -ing is so productive, and Portuguese isn't, you need to pick your Portuguese equivalent based on meaning, not on the English surface form.
| English -ing meaning | Portuguese equivalent |
|---|---|
| Quality / effect (an exciting film) | -nte adjective (um filme emocionante) |
| Agent (a working mother) | -dor adjective (uma mãe trabalhadora) or context |
| Ongoing action (a sleeping baby) | a + infinitive (um bebé a dormir) |
| Noun (swimming is healthy) | infinitive (nadar é saudável) |
| Purpose (a reading lamp) | de + infinitive (um candeeiro de leitura) |
| Material (a dining table) | de + noun (uma mesa de jantar) |
O filme foi emocionante.
The film was exciting. (quality — use -nte)
Os miúdos estão a dormir.
The kids are sleeping. (ongoing action — a + infinitive)
Nadar faz bem à saúde.
Swimming is good for your health. (English -ing as noun → infinitive)
Preciso de um candeeiro de leitura para a mesinha de cabeceira.
I need a reading lamp for my bedside table. (purpose → de + infinitive)
A subtle contrast: aborrecido vs. aborrecedor
Some verbs give you both a past-participle-adjective and a present-participle-adjective, and the meanings can diverge.
| Verb | Past-participle adj. | Present-participle adj. |
|---|---|---|
| aborrecer | aborrecido (bored / annoyed / boring) | aborrecedor (boring — less common) |
| cansar | cansado (tired) | cansativo (tiring) |
| preocupar | preocupado (worried) | preocupante (worrying) |
| interessar | interessado (interested) | interessante (interesting) |
| surpreender | surpreendido (surprised) | surpreendente (surprising) |
| animar | animado (lively, animated) | animador (encouraging) / animante |
The past participle describes the person affected; the -nte/-dor form describes the cause or source of the feeling. This is exactly the English bored/boring, tired/tiring, interested/interesting split.
Estou interessada no teu projeto; conta-me mais.
I'm interested in your project; tell me more. (I am the one experiencing the feeling)
O teu projeto é muito interessante.
Your project is very interesting. (the project causes the feeling)
Ele ficou preocupado com as notícias.
He became worried about the news.
A situação é preocupante.
The situation is worrying.
Common mistakes
❌ Vi uma menina sorrindo no parque.
Marginal in PT-PT — sounds Brazilian or literary.
✅ Vi uma menina a sorrir no parque.
I saw a smiling girl in the park.
❌ Esse livro é interessantando.
Invented form — 'interessante' is the adjective; there is no gerund-based adjective from 'interessar'.
✅ Esse livro é interessante.
That book is interesting.
❌ Estou aborrecendo deste trabalho.
Incorrect — the gerund here doesn't fit; the past-participle adjective does.
✅ Estou aborrecida com este trabalho.
I'm fed up with this work.
❌ A situação é preocupada.
Wrong direction — 'preocupado' describes someone who feels worry, not the situation causing it.
✅ A situação é preocupante.
The situation is worrying.
❌ Ela é uma mulher trabalhante.
Invented — the form is 'trabalhadora'.
✅ Ela é uma mulher trabalhadora.
She's a hard-working woman.
❌ Um homem inventante não existe no dicionário.
Correct diagnosis of an incorrect form — 'inventante' isn't a real Portuguese word.
✅ Um homem inventivo / criativo tem sempre ideias novas.
An inventive / creative man always has new ideas.
Key takeaways
- Portuguese has two productive verbal-adjective families: -nte (quality / effect) and -dor / -dora (agent / characteristic).
- -nte adjectives are invariable for gender — same form for masculine and feminine.
- Portuguese does not freely convert its gerund (-ando/-endo/-indo) into an adjective, unlike English.
- For ongoing actions, PT-PT prefers a + infinitive (a chorar, a dormir, a correr) over the gerund.
- When translating English -ing, think about the meaning: quality → -nte, agent → -dor, ongoing → a + infinitive, noun → infinitive.
- The -ado/-ido past participle and the -nte present-participle adjective form a contrasting pair: preocupado (feeling) vs preocupante (causing the feeling), interessado vs interessante, cansado vs cansativo.
- Don't invent -nte or -dor forms for verbs that lack them; learn the lexicon.
Related Topics
- Past Participles as AdjectivesA2 — Using Portuguese past participles to describe states — full agreement, irregular forms, double participles (pago/pagado), and the key distinction between ser and estar with participles.
- Invariable AdjectivesA2 — Adjectives that don't change form — simples, grátis, cor-de-rosa, laranja, and others — and the rules behind them.
- Creating Nouns from VerbsB2 — Deverbal nominalization in Portuguese — the suffixes -ção, -mento, -agem, -dor, -ância/-ência, plus zero-derivation and the articled infinitive — with guidance on when each suffix is preferred.