Nouns and adjectives: gender and plural

Every noun is masculine or feminine, even for things. Most nouns ending in -o are masculine (o livro) and most ending in -a are feminine (a mesa). Nouns ending in -ção, -são, -dade and -agem are feminine: a estação, a televisão, a cidade, a viagem.

There are exceptions. Many words ending in -ma that come from Greek are masculine: o problema, o sistema, o programa, o tema. O dia and o mapa are masculine too, while a mão (hand), a foto and a moto are feminine. For other endings, such as -e or a consonant, there's no reliable rule: o leite, a noite, o hotel, a flor. Learn each noun with o or a.

For people, -o usually becomes -a: o amigo, a amiga. A final consonant gets -a added: o professor, a professora. Words ending in -e or -ista often stay the same and only the article changes: o estudante, a estudante, o turista, a turista.

Most nouns add -s. Other endings change a little, but there are only a few patterns. The plural of -ão is the one to learn word by word: most words take -ões, but some common ones take -ães or -ãos.

Words ending in an unstressed syllable with -s don't change: o ônibus, os ônibus; o lápis, os lápis. The article shows the number.

An adjective describes a noun and agrees with it: masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Adjectives ending in -o have four forms: alto, alta, altos, altas. Most adjectives ending in -e or a consonant have one form for both genders: grande, verde, feliz, fácil. Their plurals follow the noun rules: grandes, felizes, fáceis.

Nationalities ending in -ês and adjectives ending in -or add -a for the feminine: inglês, inglesa; trabalhador, trabalhadora. Melhor, pior, maior and menor don't. For a mixed group of men and women, use the masculine plural: Os meus pais são altos.

Adjectives usually come after the noun: um carro novo (a new car), uma casa grande (a big house). A few common ones, such as bom, mau, grande, pequeno and novo, can also come before it, often with a more personal or emotional tone: uma boa ideia (a good idea).

Some adjectives change their meaning with their position. Before the noun, the meaning is usually more figurative.

Colours come after the noun. Those ending in -o agree like any adjective: um carro branco, uma casa branca. Verde and azul have one form for both genders and a plural: os olhos verdes, as portas azuis.

Colours named after things, such as rosa (rose), laranja (orange), cinza (ash) and vinho (wine), don't change at all: uma bolsa rosa, dois sofás cinza.