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Questions & Answers about O cão é mau.
Why is it mau and not má?
Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because cão (dog) is a masculine word, we use the masculine form mau. If we were talking about a female dog (cadela), we would say A cadela é má.
If I wanted to say 'the bad dog' instead of 'the dog is bad', where does the adjective go?
In Portuguese, describing words (adjectives) usually come right after the noun. So 'the bad dog' translates to o cão mau. This is a great example of post-nominal adjective placement, which simply means the adjective follows the noun it describes.
Why use é instead of está for 'is'?
How would I change this sentence to say 'The dogs are bad'?