Breakdown of O governo municipal organiza um festival de música em junho.
Questions & Answers about O governo municipal organiza um festival de música em junho.
In Portuguese, the normal order is noun + adjective, whereas in English it’s often adjective + noun.
- governo = government (noun)
- municipal = municipal (adjective)
So:
- governo municipal = municipal government
(literally “government municipal”)
Putting the adjective first (municipal governo) is wrong in this context. Portuguese adjectives usually come after the noun, unless there’s a special stylistic or meaning reason (not the case here).
Portuguese, like English, can use the simple present for scheduled future events, especially official or regular ones.
- O governo municipal organiza um festival de música em junho.
= The municipal government organizes a music festival in June.
(understood as something that happens every June or is scheduled for June)
This is similar to English sentences like:
- The train leaves at six.
- School starts in September.
You could also say:
- O governo municipal vai organizar um festival de música em junho.
= emphasises the future (“is going to organize”).
But the original sentence is perfectly natural for a planned or habitual event.
Organiza is the 3rd person singular present indicative of organizar:
- eu organizo – I organize
- tu organizas – you organize (informal singular)
- ele / ela / você organiza – he / she / you organize
- nós organizamos – we organize
- eles / elas / vocês organizam – they / you (plural) organize
The subject here is o governo municipal (“the municipal government”), which is 3rd person singular, so the verb must be organiza.
Even though “government” refers to many people, grammatically it’s treated as a singular noun in Portuguese (and usually in English as well).
Um is the indefinite article (“a / an” in English).
O is the definite article (“the” in English).
- um festival = a festival (not necessarily one that has been previously identified in the conversation)
- o festival = the festival (a specific one that both speaker and listener already know about)
In your sentence:
- O governo municipal organiza um festival de música em junho.
sounds like: The municipal government organizes a music festival in June.
(introducing the idea of such a festival, or speaking in general terms)
If both speakers already knew which festival they were talking about, you could say:
- O governo municipal organiza o festival de música em junho.
= The municipal government organizes the music festival in June.
Here, de links two nouns: festival and música. It’s often equivalent to English “of” or functions like a noun modifier:
- um festival de música
= literally a festival of music, more naturally a music festival
This de + noun pattern is extremely common to show what something is about or made of:
- um copo de água – a glass of water
- uma sala de reuniões – a meeting room
- um festival de cinema – a film festival
You could also say festival musical, but festival de música is more natural and common in this context.
Música can mean both:
- music (the general concept, uncountable), and
- song / piece of music (a specific item), depending on context.
In festival de música, you’re talking about the type of festival (a festival of music in general), not counting individual songs. That’s why the singular música is used.
If you were emphasising individual songs, you’d use músicas:
- Ele tocou três músicas novas. – He played three new songs.
But:
- festival de música – a music festival (category/type of event)
Em junho literally means “in June” and is the standard way to talk about months with no article:
- em janeiro, em fevereiro, em março… em junho
Using no here would be odd, because:
- no = em + o (in + the, masculine singular)
You usually add an article when you say “no mês de junho” (“in the month of June”):
- O festival acontece no mês de junho.
= The festival takes place in the month of June.
But when you just mention the month itself, you normally say:
- em junho, em agosto, em dezembro, etc.
In Portuguese, names of months and days of the week are not capitalised, unless they start a sentence or are part of a title:
- em junho – in June
- em segunda-feira – on Monday
So:
- O festival é em junho. – Correct
- O festival é em Junho. – Usually considered incorrect in standard writing
English capitalises June, Monday, etc. Portuguese does not, in normal text.
Adjectives ending in -al usually have:
- one form for masculine and feminine, and
- a different form for plural.
Municipal works like this:
singular:
- governo municipal – municipal government (masc.)
- câmara municipal – municipal council (fem.)
plural:
- governos municipais – municipal governments
- câmaras municipais – municipal councils
In your sentence, governo is singular and masculine, so the adjective is singular too: municipal. It doesn’t visibly change with gender, only with number.
In European Portuguese:
- governo municipal is understandable, but not the most common way to refer to local government in everyday speech.
- The usual term is câmara municipal, which is the town/city council and the executive body of the municipality.
So in Portugal you would very often hear:
- A câmara municipal organiza um festival de música em junho.
Governo is more commonly used about:
- o Governo – the national government
- regional governments (Governo Regional) in autonomous regions like Madeira or the Azores
You need to make the article, noun, adjective, verb, and object agree in number:
- Os governos municipais organizam festivais de música em junho.
- os governos – the governments (plural)
- municipais – plural of municipal
- organizam – 3rd person plural of organizar
- festivais – plural of festival
Singular vs plural:
- O governo municipal organiza um festival de música em junho.
- Os governos municipais organizam festivais de música em junho.
Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (IPA + tips):
junho – /ˈʒu.ɲu/
- j like the s in vision
- nh = one sound like Spanish ñ, French gn in montagne
- two syllables: JU-nho, stress on the first
municipal – /mu.ni.siˈpaɫ/
- u like oo in book (but shorter)
- c before i = s sound
- final l is a “dark L”, produced further back; often sounds like English w to learners
- stress on the last syllable: mu-ni-si-PAL
Full sentence (EP):
O governo municipal organiza um festival de música em junho.
/ u ɡuˈvɛɾnu munisiˈpaɫ oɾɣɐˈnizɐ ũ fɛʃtiˈvaɫ dɨ ˈmuzikɐ ẽ ˈʒu.ɲu /
Yes, you can use other verbs, with slightly different nuances:
- organiza – organises, focuses on planning and running the event.
- realiza – holds / carries out:
- O governo municipal realiza um festival de música em junho.
- promove – promotes (actively encourages, supports):
- O governo municipal promove um festival de música em junho.
All are compatible with this kind of sentence, but:
- organiza = they are responsible for putting it together
- realiza = they ensure it takes place
- promove = they sponsor / push it, not necessarily organize all logistics themselves