Question 1

Could we place the adjective before the noun here, as in um excelente trabalho?

Accepted Answer

Yes. While adjectives typically follow the noun in Portuguese, placing excelente before the noun is very common and natural here. It adds a bit more subjective emphasis or emotional weight to the praise, whereas trabalho excelente is slightly more standard and objective.

Question 2

Since the English translation says 'job', why don't we use the word emprego?

Accepted Answer

In Portuguese, emprego strictly refers to your position of employment or the role you are hired for. When talking about the actual task, project, or the effort someone put in, you must use trabalho.

Question 3

Why doesn't the adjective excelente change ending to match the gender of the noun?

Accepted Answer

Adjectives that end in -e in their base form, such as excelente, inteligente, or triste, are uniform. This means they do not change form to reflect masculine or feminine nouns. They only change when pluralized, which is done by adding an -s.

Question 4

Is fazer the only verb we can use for 'did a job' in this context?

Accepted Answer

While fazer is the most common and versatile choice, in a B2 or professional context you will also hear verbs like desempenhar or realizar. For example, Ela desempenhou um excelente trabalho sounds much more formal and professional.

Ela fez um trabalho excelente.

Breakdown of Ela fez um trabalho excelente.

Questions & Answers about Ela fez um trabalho excelente.

Learn Ela fez um trabalho excelente and more in Portuguese