Os camiões são grandes e pesados.

Breakdown of Os camiões são grandes e pesados.

ser
to be
e
and
grande
big / large
pesado
heavy
o camião
the truck

Questions & Answers about Os camiões são grandes e pesados.

Why is the plural of camião spelled camiões?
Words ending in -ão can form their plural in three different ways: -ões, -ãos, or -ães. The most common ending is -ões, which is the one camião uses. There isn't a strict rule for which ending a word takes, so you just have to memorize the plural form when you learn a new -ão noun.
Why use são here instead of estão?
We use são (from the verb ser) for permanent or inherent characteristics. Being big and heavy is a basic fact about these trucks, not a temporary condition. If we were talking about a temporary state, like the trucks being dirty right now, we would use estão (from the verb estar).
Since camiões is a masculine noun, why doesn't grandes end in an 'os' to match?
Adjectives that end in -e in the singular, like grande (big), are gender-neutral in Portuguese. This means they don't change between masculine and feminine. To make them plural, you simply add an -s, becoming grandes whether they describe masculine trucks or feminine houses.
Why does pesados end in -os when grandes ends in -es?
Unlike grande, the base form of the adjective pesado (heavy) ends in -o. Adjectives ending in -o or -a must change to match both the gender and the number of the noun they describe. Because camiões is masculine and plural, pesado becomes pesados.

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