LinguaAfter a vowel -s, after r, s, z -es
Most nouns end in a vowel and simply add -s: a casa → as casas, o dia → os dias, a foto → as fotos. After r, z and a stressed s, add -es: a flor → as flores, a luz → as luzes, o país → os países. A word in -s whose last syllable is not stressed does not change at all – only the article shows the plural: o ônibus → os ônibus.
No jardim há flores e animais.In the garden there are flowers and animals.
-m becomes -ns, -l becomes -is
Nouns in -m change it to -ns: o homem → os homens, o jardim → os jardins. Nouns in -l drop the l and add -is: o animal → os animais, o jornal → os jornais. When the stress falls on -el, the plural writes an accent to keep the open sound: o papel → os papéis, o hotel → os hotéis.
Words in -ão have three possible plurals, and the singular does not tell you which: -ões (by far the most common: a lição → as lições, o avião → os aviões), -ãos (a mão → as mãos, o irmão → os irmãos) and -ães (o pão → os pães, o alemão → os alemães). Learn the plural together with each new word in -ão; when in doubt, -ões is the safest guess.
| Ending | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| -ão → -ões | o avião | os aviões |
| -ão → -ãos | a mão | as mãos |
| -ão → -ães | o pão | os pães |
| -m → -ns | o jardim | os jardins |
| -l → -is | o jornal | os jornais |
The article and the adjective follow the noun
In the plural, everything around the noun takes the plural too: o livro novo → os livros novos, a casa nova → as casas novas. The adjective usually comes after the noun. grande has one form for both genders, so it only adds -s: a cidade grande → as cidades grandes. In relaxed Brazilian speech you will hear os livro novo, with -s only on the article – but write and learn every -s.
As cidades grandes têm muitos hotéis novos.Big cities have a lot of new hotels.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a flor | flower | Ela gosta de flores amarelas. She likes yellow flowers. |
| o país | country | O Brasil é um país de muitas línguas indígenas. Brazil is a country of many indigenous languages. |
| o homem | man | Aquele homem é o meu professor. That man is my teacher. |
| o papel | paper | Você tem papel e caneta? Do you have paper and a pen? |
| o animal | animal | O gato é o meu animal favorito. The cat is my favourite animal. |
| o pão | bread | Eu compro pão na padaria todo dia. I buy bread at the bakery every day. |
| o avião | plane, airplane | O avião para Lisboa sai às oito. The plane to Lisbon leaves at eight. |
| o jardim | garden | A casa da minha avó tem um jardim. My grandmother’s house has a garden. |
| o hotel | hotel | O hotel fica perto da praia. The hotel is near the beach. |
| o jornal | newspaper | Meu avô lê o jornal de manhã. My grandfather reads the newspaper in the morning. |
| a luz | light | Apague a luz, por favor. Turn off the light, please. |
| o ônibus | bus | Os ônibus aqui são azuis. The buses here are blue. |
| novo | new | Meu celular é novo. My phone is new. |
| grande | big, large | São Paulo é uma cidade grande. São Paulo is a big city. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
What is the plural of o papel?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.