Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Cada manifestante segura um cartaz colorido com uma frase diferente. - Each protester holds a colorful sign with a different sentence.

Cada manifestante segura… = Each protester holds…
If you wanted a plural subject without cada, you’d say:
- Os manifestantes seguram cartazes coloridos… = The protesters hold colourful signs…

What is the difference between cada and todos os?

Both refer to all members of a group, but they focus differently:

cada manifestante = each protester (looking at them one by one)
todos os manifestantes = all the protesters (as a group)

Examples:

Cada manifestante segura um cartaz.
Each protester holds one sign (one per person).
Todos os manifestantes seguram cartazes.
All the protesters hold signs (it doesn’t clearly say one each; they simply all have signs).

In your sentence, cada emphasizes that the situation is repeated individually for every person.

Why um cartaz colorido (singular) and not cartazes coloridos?

Because the sentence describes what each individual protester has:

um cartaz colorido = one colourful sign
cartazes coloridos = colourful signs (more than one sign)

The structure is:

Cada manifestante → segura um cartaz colorido
Each person → holds one colourful sign.

If you said:

Cada manifestante segura cartazes coloridos.
That would mean: Each protester holds several colourful signs.

Why is the present simple segura used instead of something like “is holding”?

European Portuguese often uses the simple present to describe an action that is happening right now, especially in descriptions:

Cada manifestante segura um cartaz colorido…
Natural translation: Each protester is holding a colourful sign…

If you want to emphasise the ongoing aspect (similar to is holding), in European Portuguese you would say:

Cada manifestante está a segurar um cartaz colorido…

In Brazilian Portuguese, they would use:

Cada manifestante está segurando um cartaz colorido…

But in many contexts, the simple present segura is perfectly normal for a current action.

What does segura mean exactly, and how is it different from other verbs like ter?

Segura is the 3rd person singular of segurar, which means to hold (physically, with your hands).

segurar um cartaz = to hold a sign (in your hands)
ter um cartaz = to have/own a sign (not necessarily holding it at the moment)

So:

Cada manifestante segura um cartaz.
Each protester is physically holding a sign.
Cada manifestante tem um cartaz.
Each protester has a sign (they own or possess one; they might be holding it or not).

In your sentence, segura clearly gives the image of them actually holding the signs during the protest.

How does gender and agreement work in um cartaz colorido and uma frase diferente?

In Portuguese, articles and adjectives agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun.

um cartaz colorido
- cartaz = masculine, singular
- um (a/an) = masculine, singular
- colorido (colourful) = masculine, singular
  Everything matches: um – cartaz – colorido.
uma frase diferente
- frase = feminine, singular
- uma (a/an) = feminine, singular
- diferente = this adjective has the same form for masculine and feminine, and here it’s singular
  Everything matches: uma – frase – diferente.

So the pattern is:

article + noun + adjective(s)
all agreeing in gender and number with the noun.

Could the adjectives go before the nouns, like colorido cartaz or diferente frase?

Normally, in Portuguese, adjectives come after the noun:

cartaz colorido (standard)
frase diferente (standard)

Putting them before the noun is either unusual, poetic, or marked, and often not correct in neutral, everyday speech:

colorido cartaz – sounds odd/wrong in normal speech.
diferente frase – also sounds odd.

Some very common adjectives (e.g. bom, mau, grande, pequeno, velho, novo) can come before the noun (um bom amigo, uma grande casa), but colorido and diferente are not typically used that way in neutral style.

So in your sentence, the word order is the natural one.

What exactly does manifestante mean, and how does gender work with it?

Manifestante means protester or demonstrator.

It is a common gender noun:
- o manifestante = the (male) protester
- a manifestante = the (female) protester

The form manifestante itself doesn’t change; only the article (and any adjectives) change for gender.

Plural:

os manifestantes = the protesters (mixed or male group)
as manifestantes = the protesters (all female group)

In Cada manifestante segura…, there is no article, so we don’t see the gender; it simply means each protester, regardless of gender.

What does frase mean here? Is it “sentence”, “phrase”, or “slogan”?

Literally, frase means sentence (a full sentence with a verb) or phrase (in a more general sense).

In the context of a protest sign, uma frase would usually be understood as a message / slogan / short sentence written on the sign.

So in this sentence:

um cartaz colorido com uma frase diferente
= a colourful sign with a different message/slogan on it.

If you wanted to be very explicit about the protest context, you could also say:

um cartaz colorido com um slogan diferente
(a colourful sign with a different slogan)

Why is it uma frase diferente (singular) and not frases diferentes?

Because each protester is holding one sign with one phrase on it:

uma frase = one phrase/sentence
frases = phrases (more than one)

The adjective also agrees:

uma frase diferente
- frase: singular
- diferente: singular

The idea “they all have different phrases from each other” is expressed by context, not by making diferente plural. You only make diferente plural if the noun is plural:

Cada manifestante segura um cartaz com frases diferentes.
Each protester holds a sign with different phrases (several phrases on each sign).

In your sentence, singular frase diferente = one phrase per sign, and they’re all different from each other.

How is the preposition com used here? Does it mean “with” or “having/on it”?

In this context, com is like English with, and it can be understood as:

a sign with a different phrase (on it)
a sign that has a different phrase

So:

um cartaz colorido com uma frase diferente
literally: a colourful sign with a different phrase.
Implied meaning: the phrase is written/printed on the sign.

Portuguese often uses com in this way:

um copo com água = a glass with water (a glass that has water in it)
um caderno com desenhos = a notebook with drawings (a notebook that has drawings in it)

Can I drop the article and say Cada manifestante segura cartaz colorido?

No, that sounds wrong or at best very unnatural in European Portuguese.

With a singular countable noun like cartaz, you need an article (or another determiner):

um cartaz colorido (a colourful sign)
o cartaz colorido (the colourful sign)
este cartaz colorido (this colourful sign), etc.

So:

✅ Cada manifestante segura um cartaz colorido.
❌ Cada manifestante segura cartaz colorido.

Omitting the article like this is not normal in standard Portuguese (unlike in some other languages).

How would I pronounce this sentence in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (roughly):

Cada manifestante segura um cartaz colorido com uma frase diferente.

IPA (simplified):
/ˈka.ðɐ mɐ.niʃ.tɐˈn.tɨ sɨ.ˈɡu.ɾɐ ũ kɐɾ.ˈtaʃ ku.lu.ˈɾi.ðu kõ ˈu.mɐ ˈfɾa.zɨ ðifɛ.ˈɾẽ.tɨ/

Very rough English-like guide:

Cada → “KA-duh” (with soft d, almost th-like: “KA-thuh”)
manifestante → “muh-neesh-tun-ti”
segura → “suh-GOO-ruh”
um → nasal: like “oo” with the sound going through your nose (ũ)
cartaz → “kar-TASH” (final z like sh in EP)
colorido → “koo-loh-REE-doo”
com → nasal “kohng” (but the g is not fully pronounced)
uma → “OO-muh”
frase → “FRA-z(ɨ)” (final vowel very reduced, almost like “frA-zuh”)
diferente → “dee-feh-REN-ti”

Nasal vowels (like um, com) and reduced final vowels (-e → [ɨ]) are key European Portuguese features.