Question 1

Why does the Portuguese sentence use cada vez menos to mean "less and less"?

Accepted Answer

In Portuguese, you don't repeat the word for "less" like we do in English. Instead, you use the fixed phrase cada vez menos, which literally translates to "each time less." This is the standard way to describe a progressive decrease.

Question 2

População is a feminine noun. Shouldn't we use a feminine form of menos?

Accepted Answer

No, because the word menos is invariable, meaning it never changes its spelling to match gender or number. You might occasionally hear some native speakers mistakenly say "menas" in informal speech, but it is grammatically incorrect. It is always menos.

Question 3

Could I say cada vez menos pessoas instead of cada vez menos população?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely! Cada vez menos pessoas means "fewer and fewer people," which is a very natural way to express this. The original sentence just uses população (population) as a singular collective noun to say the exact same thing.

Question 4

Can cada vez menos modify verbs as well as nouns like população?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In this sentence, it acts as a quantifier for a noun, but you can also place it directly after a verb to show that an action is happening less frequently. For example, eu conduzo cada vez menos means "I drive less and less."

A zona rural tem cada vez menos população.

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