O ator é muito engraçado.

The actor is very funny.

Breakdown of O ator é muito engraçado.

• ser: to be
• muito: very
• engraçado: funny
• o ator: the actor

Questions & Answers about O ator é muito engraçado.

Why does the sentence start with O ator instead of just Ator?

In Portuguese you normally need an article (o / a / os / as) in front of singular countable nouns used as subjects.

• O ator = the actor
• Ator by itself sounds incomplete in standard sentences and is usually only seen in things like lists, titles, or headlines.

So O ator é muito engraçado literally matches English structure: The actor is very funny.

What’s the difference between é and está? Why is it é here?

Portuguese has two verbs that translate as to be: ser and estar.

• ser (é) – used for more permanent or defining characteristics:
  • O ator é muito engraçado.
    The actor is very funny (that’s part of what he’s like).
• estar (está) – used for temporary states or conditions:
  • O ator está muito engraçado hoje.
    The actor is very funny today (right now, unusually).

In O ator é muito engraçado, being funny is presented as a general, characteristic trait, so é (from ser) is correct.

Why does engraçado end in -o? What changes if the actor is a woman?

Engraçado is an adjective, and in Portuguese most adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun.

• Masculine singular: engraçado
  • O ator é muito engraçado. – The (male) actor is very funny.
• Feminine singular: engraçada
  • A atriz é muito engraçada. – The (female) actress is very funny.
• Masculine plural: engraçados
  • Os atores são muito engraçados. – The actors are very funny.
• Feminine plural: engraçadas
  • As atrizes são muito engraçadas. – The actresses are very funny.

So with ator (a masculine noun), you must use engraçado.

Does muito have to come before engraçado? Can I say engraçado muito?

Muito is an adverb here meaning very, and in Portuguese adverbs normally come before the adjective they modify.

• Correct: muito engraçado – very funny
• Incorrect: engraçado muito – sounds wrong/unnatural.

So the word order é muito engraçado is fixed: verb + adverb + adjective.

Does muito change form like engraçado / engraçada, or does it stay the same?

It depends on how muito is used:

1. As an adverb (meaning very), it never changes:

   • muito engraçado / muito engraçada / muito engraçados / muito engraçadas
   • A casa é muito grande. – The house is very big.

2. As an adjective (meaning much or many), it agrees:

   • muito trabalho – much work
   • muita água – much water
   • muitos livros – many books
   • muitas pessoas – many people

In O ator é muito engraçado, muito is an adverb = very, so it stays muito for all genders and numbers.

How do you pronounce O ator é muito engraçado in Brazilian Portuguese?

Approximate pronunciation (Brazilian, neutral accent):

• O ator – [o a-TOHR]

  • o: like o in story but shorter
  • t: like English t
  • final r: often a soft “h” sound or very weak [h] depending on region

• é – [EH]

  • like e in bet, but a bit tenser

• muito – [MOOY-toh] (or [MWEEN-toh] in some accents)

  • mui: like moy in boy but starting with m
  • to: toh

• engraçado – [ẽ-gra-SA-doo] (main stress on -ça-)

  • en: nasal, like French en
  • gra: gra as in grah
  • ça (ç = s sound): sa as in salsa
  • do: doo

All together, something like:
[o a-TOHR EH MOOY-to ẽ-gra-SA-doo]

What does the ç in engraçado do?

The ç (called “c cedilha”) changes the c sound:

• c before a, o, u → normally a hard k sound:

  • casa – kaza
  • copo – kopo

• ç before a, o, u → soft s sound:

  • engraçado – /engrasado/ (not engrakado)
  • moço – /moh-so/

So engraçado is pronounced with an s sound in that syllable, not a k: en-gra-SA-do.

Can I leave out the article and just say Ator é muito engraçado?

Not in normal, full sentences. In standard Brazilian Portuguese:

• O ator é muito engraçado. – correct.
• Ator é muito engraçado. – sounds like a title, label, or note, not a normal sentence.

You might see Ator engraçado as a heading, but in spoken or regular written sentences you need the article: O ator.

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like ele in the sentence?

Portuguese allows null subjects: the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person:

• (Ele) é muito engraçado. – He is very funny.
• (Ela) é muito engraçada. – She is very funny.

In O ator é muito engraçado, O ator is already the subject noun, so there’s no need for ele. Saying O ator, ele é muito engraçado is possible but more emphatic, like “The actor, he is very funny.”

Is engraçado always “funny,” or can it mean something else?

Engraçado mainly means:

1. Funny / amusing (especially with people, jokes, situations):

   • O ator é muito engraçado. – The actor is very funny.
   • Que piada engraçada! – What a funny joke!

2. Strange / odd / peculiar in some contexts, especially in expressions:

   • Que engraçado… – That’s strange / That’s odd… (depending on tone)
   • Situação engraçada. – A weird/awkward situation (can be “funny” or “odd,” depending on context).

In your sentence, with an actor, it’s clearly “very funny.”

What’s the feminine form of ator, and would the sentence change a lot?

The feminine equivalent of ator is atriz (actress):

• Masculine:
  
  • O ator é muito engraçado. – The (male) actor is very funny.
• Feminine:
  
  • A atriz é muito engraçada. – The (female) actress is very funny.

Changes:

• Article: O → A
• Noun: ator → atriz
• Adjective: engraçado → engraçada (to agree with atriz)