LinguaWhat you can already do
You can now give every noun its article, put it in the plural and make an adjective agree with it. Three questions do all the work: Is the noun masculine or feminine? (the article you learned with it tells you), Is it one or several? and Which ending does the plural take?
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| -dade and -ção are always feminine | a cidade, a lição |
| -ma is usually masculine | o problema, o tema |
| after r, z or a stressed s: -es | as flores, os países |
| -m becomes -ns | os homens, bons |
| -l becomes -is | os papéis, fáceis |
| -ão has three plurals | as lições, as mãos, os pães |
As cidades brasileiras são grandes e muito bonitas.Brazilian cities are big and very beautiful.
Agreement in one chain
The noun decides, and everything else follows: article, adjective and verb. uma amiga japonesa → umas amigas japonesas; o hotel pequeno → os hotéis pequenos. Two words stay outside the chain: muito before an adjective (“very”), and adjectives in -e only change for number (grande, grandes).
Umas amigas japonesas moram num hotel pequeno.Some Japanese friends are staying in a small hotel.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| o problema | problem | Qual é o problema do carro? What’s wrong with the car? |
| a cidade | city, town | Florianópolis é uma cidade numa ilha. Florianópolis is a city on an island. |
| a mão | hand | Lave as mãos antes do almoço. Wash your hands before lunch. |
| o país | country | O Canadá é um país muito frio. Canada is a very cold country. |
| o homem | man | O homem de chapéu é o meu tio. The man in the hat is my uncle. |
| o papel | paper | Escreva o seu nome neste papel. Write your name on this paper. |
| o pão | bread | O pão de queijo é de Minas Gerais. Cheese bread comes from Minas Gerais. |
| bonito | beautiful, pretty, nice | A praia de Copacabana é bonita. Copacabana beach is beautiful. |
| fácil | easy | A receita é fácil e rápida. The recipe is easy and quick. |
| japonês | Japanese | O restaurante japonês da esquina é bom. The Japanese restaurant on the corner is good. |
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
Which of these nouns is masculine?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.