Adjective Placement
In English, we say "the white car". In Portuguese, adjectives almost always come after the noun they describe.
[Noun] + [Adjective]
| The white car is fast. | O carro branco é rápido. |
| I have a black cat. | Tenho um gato preto. |
Gender Agreement
Adjectives must match the noun's gender. Most Portuguese adjectives end in -o in their masculine form. To make them feminine, change the -o to an -a.
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| branco | branca | white |
| preto | preta | black |
| frio | fria | cold |
| The new bicycle is fast. | A bicicleta nova é rápida. |
| The cold soup is not good. | A sopa fria não é boa. |
Number Agreement
Adjectives must also match the noun's number. For regular adjectives ending in a vowel, add an -s to make them plural.
This means a regular adjective has four forms. Let's look at velho (old):
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | velho | velhos |
| Feminine | velha | velhas |
| The white doors are clean. | As portas brancas estão limpas. |
| They eat delicious cakes. | Eles comem bolos deliciosos. |
| The old houses are expensive. | As casas velhas são caras. |
Adjectives always agree with the noun they describe, even when separated by a verb:
| The cheap restaurants are not dirty. | Os restaurantes baratos não são sujos. |
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