Expressing Gradual Change
To say "more and more" or "less and less", Portuguese uses cada vez mais and cada vez menos (literally "each time more" and "each time less").
Place the phrase directly after the verb to describe an action increasing or decreasing over time.
| The population of the city grows more and more. | A população da cidade cresce cada vez mais. |
With Nouns
Use these phrases directly before a noun to mean "more and more [noun]" or "less and less [noun]".
| There are more and more inhabitants in this area. | Há cada vez mais habitantes nesta zona. |
Notice that cada vez menos covers both "less and less" (with uncountable nouns) and "fewer and fewer" (with countable nouns).
| The rural area has less and less population. | A zona rural tem cada vez menos população. |
| The development of the city requires more and more construction. | O desenvolvimento da cidade exige cada vez mais construção. |
With Adjectives
When placed before an adjective, these phrases mean "increasingly" or "decreasingly".
| Housing in the center is increasingly expensive. | A habitação no centro é cada vez mais cara. |
| Construction in the rural outskirts is increasingly fast. | A construção na periferia rural é cada vez mais rápida. |
Sentence Placement
These structures usually stay close to the verb they modify, often sitting between the verb and its object, or between two verbs.
| We want to live in an urban environment less and less. | A gente quer cada vez menos viver num ambiente urbano. |
| The inhabitants increasingly look for the suburb and the outskirts. | Os habitantes procuram cada vez mais o subúrbio e a periferia. |
You will use these progressive comparisons constantly to describe a changing world:
| With urban development, the suburb has more and more housing. | Com o desenvolvimento urbano, o subúrbio tem cada vez mais habitação. |
