Breakdown of Ela compra um telemóvel caro.
ela
she
o telemóvel
the mobile phone
um
a / an / some (all forms)
comprar
to buy
Questions & Answers about Ela compra um telemóvel caro.
Why is caro placed after telemóvel?
In Portuguese, most descriptive adjectives, like caro (expensive), come after the noun they describe. So instead of 'an expensive phone' like in English, you say 'a phone expensive' (um telemóvel caro).
Why does the adjective end in -o (caro)?
Adjectives must match the gender and number of the noun they describe. Because telemóvel is a masculine, singular noun (which we can also tell by the masculine article um), the adjective takes its masculine singular form, caro, rather than the feminine form cara.
I've sometimes heard the word 'celular' used for a mobile phone. Why does this sentence use telemóvel?
Telemóvel is the standard word for a mobile phone in European Portuguese, which is spoken in Portugal. The word 'celular' is the equivalent used in Brazilian Portuguese.