Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Os camiões são grandes e pesados.

Os camiões são grandes e pesados.

The trucks are big and heavy.

Breakdown of Os camiões são grandes e pesados.

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?