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Portuguese (Portugal)

### Verb + Noun Compounds

In Portuguese, many everyday tools and household items are named by combining a verb (like *abrir* or *guardar*) with a plural noun. For example, **o abre-latas** (can opener) literally translates to "opens-cans". 

Because the noun portion is already plural, the word itself doesn't change in the plural. You simply change the article before it:

- **o abre-latas** (can opener) → **os abre-latas**
- **o saca-rolhas** (corkscrew) → **os saca-rolhas**
- **o guarda-fatos** (wardrobe) → **os guarda-fatos**
- **o porta-moedas** (coin purse) → **os porta-moedas**
- **o porta-chaves** (keychain) → **os porta-chaves**
- **o guarda-joias** (jewelry box) → **os guarda-joias**

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### Noun + Noun Compounds

When a compound word is made of two nouns joined by a hyphen, the general rule is to pluralize both words:

- **o sofá-cama** (sofa bed) → **os sofás-camas**
- **o rádio-despertador** (clock radio) → **os rádios-despertadores**
- **a couve-flor** (cauliflower) → **as couves-flores**

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However, if the second noun acts like an adjective describing the first, often only the first noun becomes plural. A common example is **a palavra-chave** (keyword), which becomes **as palavras-chave**.

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Plural compound nouns

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Question	Answer
the can opener	o abre-latas
the corkscrew	o saca-rolhas
We have two can openers and two corkscrews in the kitchen drawer.	Nós temos dois abre-latas e dois saca-rolhas na gaveta da cozinha.
If you want to use the can openers, you have to wash them.	Se queres usar os abre-latas, tens de lavá-los.
What beautiful corkscrews! I want to keep them.	Que saca-rolhas bonitos! Quero guardá-los.
the wardrobe	o guarda-fatos
When we buy new wardrobes, we organize the clothes.	Quando compramos guarda-fatos novos, arrumamos a roupa.
the coin purse	o porta-moedas
The wardrobes are empty, but the coin purses are full.	Os guarda-fatos estão vazios, mas os porta-moedas estão cheios.
the keychain	o porta-chaves
I lost my coin purses and my keychains yesterday.	Perdi os meus porta-moedas e os meus porta-chaves ontem.
the jewelry box	o guarda-joias
Where are the keychains and the jewelry boxes?	Onde estão os porta-chaves e os guarda-joias?
the sofa bed	o sofá-cama
She hid the jewelry boxes under the sofa beds.	Ela escondeu os guarda-joias debaixo dos sofás-camas.
We sleep on the sofa beds when we visit the city.	Dormimos nos sofás-camas quando visitamos a cidade.
the clock radio	o rádio-despertador
the keyword	a palavra-chave
These clock radios do not need keywords.	Estes rádios-despertadores não precisam de palavras-chave.
the cauliflower	a couve-flor
What a strange thing! There are clock radios next to the cauliflowers!	Que coisa estranha! Há rádios-despertadores ao lado das couves-flores!
The keywords are useful when we cook the cauliflowers.	As palavras-chave são úteis quando cozinhamos as couves-flores.