ELONIO
Log inSign up

O inverno é muito frio.

O inverno é muito frio.
The winter is very cold.
FromLesson 8inHardcore Portuguese (Brazil)

Breakdown of O inverno é muito frio.

ser
to be
frio
cold
muito
very
o inverno
the winter

Questions & Answers about O inverno é muito frio.

Why is there a definite article O before inverno?
In Portuguese, seasons generally take a definite article. O inverno literally means “the winter.” Native speakers almost always say o verão, a primavera, o outono, and o inverno when talking about seasons in a general or habitual sense.
Could I omit the article and say Inverno é muito frio?
In everyday speech, omitting the article sounds odd or poetic. You’ll nearly always hear O inverno é muito frio. In titles, headlines, or poetry you might see Inverno é muito frio for stylistic effect, but not in normal conversation.
Why is the verb é (from ser) used here instead of está (from estar)?
Ser is used to describe permanent or characteristic qualities. Since winter’s chill is a defining trait of the season, you use ser: O inverno é muito frio (“Winter is very cold”). Estar would imply a temporary state, which doesn’t fit when talking about a season’s usual characteristic.
I’ve also heard faz muito frio. What’s the difference?

Fazer is the common impersonal verb for talking about the current weather: Faz muito frio hoje (“It’s very cold today”).

  • O inverno é muito frio → describes winter as a season.
  • Faz muito frio → reports the current temperature or weather condition.
Why do we say muito frio and not frio muito?
In Portuguese, the adverb muito (“very”) normally precedes the adjective it modifies. So you say muito frio (“very cold”). Placing muito after frio would be ungrammatical in this context.
Why is muito not muita here?
Muito agrees with the adjective frio in gender and number. Since frio is masculine singular, you use the masculine singular form muito. If you said muito calor (masculine) it stays muito, but if you had a feminine noun like frioza (hypothetical), you’d say muita frioza.
Why is the adjective frio not plural?
The noun inverno is singular, so its describing adjective frio stays singular: O inverno é frio. If you were describing multiple winters, os invernos são frios, both noun and adjective would be plural.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Portuguese grammar?”
Portuguese grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Portuguese

Master Portuguese — from O inverno é muito frio to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Portuguese→