• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Translation/Interpretation
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
Learn the Gender of Adjectives to Speak Better Portuguese

Learn the Gender of Adjectives to Speak Better Portuguese

posted on August 4, 2015

Gender of Adjectives in Portuguese

My previous post showed you the main rules that will help you determine if a noun is masculine or feminine.

Now you need to learn about the gender of adjectives so you can match nouns and adjectives correctly and speak better Portuguese.

In this lesson I will show you:

  1. Adjectives that have their masculine and feminine forms
  2. Adjectives that have one form for both masculine and feminine nouns
  3. Four tips to help you master the gender of adjectives
  4. Bonus: Two words that cause a lot of trouble to leaners

Adjectives that end in A or O

Adjectives that end in “a” or “o” have their feminine and masculine forms, and must agree in gender with the noun that they modify.

Examples:

  • a casa bonita = the beautiful house
  • o apartamento bonito = the beautiful apartment
  • a menina alta = the tall girl
  • o menino alto = the tall boy
  • a gata pequena = the small female cat
  • o gato pequeno = the small male cat

This Might Surprise You

This is true for the colors as well:

  • o casaco vermelho = the red coat
  • a camiseta vermelha = the red t-shirt
  • a bolsa preta = the black purse
  • o sapato preto = the black shoe

There are two exceptions. These colors end in “a” but have a single form for both masculine and feminine nouns:

  • cinza = gray
  • rosa = pink

Adjectives with a single form

Other adjectives have a single form for both masculine and feminine. These adjectives usually do not end in “a” or “o”.

Examples:

  • a casa grande = the big house
  • o carro grande = the big car
  • a menina inteligente = the intelligent girl
  • o menino inteligente = the intelligent boy
  • a mulher feliz = the happy woman
  • o homem feliz = tha happy man
  • a camisa elegante = the elegant shirt
  • o sapato elegante = the elegant shoe

Four tips to help your Portuguese

Tip # 1

The general rule is that the noun comes before the adjective.

  • O prédio alto = the tall building
  • A mulher bonita = the beautiful woman
  • O gato amarelo = the yellow cat

Tip # 2

Objects do not change genders. If an object is feminine, it is always feminine. If an object is masculine, it is always masculine.

  • A mesa: Table is always a feminine word
  • O carro: Car is always a masculine word

Tip # 3

Nouns rule the relationship. If a noun is masculine, the adjectives that refer to that noun will be used in the masculine. If a noun is feminine, the adjectives that refer to that noun will be used in the feminine.

Tip # 4

Verbs do not have a gender. Verb conjugations do not depend on the gender of who is speaking or who the verb refers to.

  • Ela fala português. = She speaks Portuguese.
  • Ele fala português. = He speaks Portuguese.
  • Ana: Eu falo inglês. = I speak English.
  • Tom: Eu falo inglês. = I speak English.

A bola vs. O bolo

These two nouns are a great source of confusion for learners:

  • a bola de futebol = the soccer ball
  • o bolo de chocolate = the chocolate cake

Gender of Adjectives in Portuguese: a bola vs o bolo

Avoid getting in trouble! Watch this fun video lesson on Similar words that can get you into trouble 🙂

Practice with your instructor

  1. Describe a girlfriend or a woman in your family
  2. Describe a guy friend or a man in your family
  3. Describe yourself.
  4. Describe your home.

Don’t have an instructor? Book a Trial Lesson with Street Smart Brazil today! See for yourself the positive difference that a professional instructor will make in your ability to communicate effectively in Portuguese.

Related Posts:

  • One-word Portuguese Lesson [Video]: Fuleiro
  • To Turn On in Portuguese: 3 Different Verbs–…
  • How to Say It in Portuguese: To look just like…
Share ... Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Email this to someone
email
Luciana Lage

About Luciana Lage

Luciana Lage founded Street Smart Brazil drawing on her passion for Brazilian Portuguese language and culture. Luciana has also taught Portuguese at University of California, Berkeley, and currently teaches at the University of San Francisco.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Music
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

Street Smart Brazil has been incredible. As someone who is focused on international business as a profession and a passion, learning languages has always been critical in helping me bridge cultures an… – Jessica

Meet The Team

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Portuguese Conversation Group Class open now
  • Brazilian New Year’s Eve Traditions and Superstitions
  • Use the Infinitive in Portuguese instead of -ING in English – Portuguese lesson
  • To Turn On in Portuguese: 3 Different Verbs– Portuguese lesson
  • 5 New Books to Learn Portuguese

Footer Subscribe

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/Q8ONwVoTG9M

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Preparation Course
  • Aulas de Inglês

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2021 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved | Website by Web Savvy Marketing