Breakdown of O rapaz é mais encantador que honesto, não é?
ser
to be
o rapaz
the boy
mais
more
o
him/it (m)
não é?
isn't it? / right? (confirms affirmative)
que
than (in comparisons)
honesto
honest
encantador
charming
Questions & Answers about O rapaz é mais encantador que honesto, não é?
Why do we use just que here instead of do que?
This is an intra-subject comparison. We are comparing two different qualities (encantador and honesto) that belong to the exact same subject (o rapaz). In this situation, European Portuguese prefers to drop the do and just use mais... que.
Would it be grammatically wrong to say mais encantador do que honesto?
It is not strictly wrong, but using just que is considered much better style when comparing two adjectives describing the same noun. You only absolutely need do que when comparing two different subjects (for example, comparing the boy's honesty to a girl's honesty).
If the subject were female, would both adjectives change their endings?
Yes, both adjectives must agree with the subject in gender and number. If we were talking about a girl, the sentence would become A rapariga é mais encantadora que honesta.
The sentence ends with não é. Does the tag question always match the main verb like it does in English?
Not necessarily. While it matches perfectly here because the main verb is é, não é? acts as a universal tag question in Portuguese. You can use it after almost any statement to mean 'right?' or 'isn't that so?', regardless of the main verb used earlier in the sentence.
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