Language/Portuguese/Grammar/Plurals

Portuguese Grammar - Plurals

Hi Portuguese learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will explore the plural forms in Portuguese. This is an important topic to master, as it will help you improve your communication skills and express yourself more clearly in Portuguese. Remember, to improve your Portuguese Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Introduction

In Portuguese, nouns can be singular or plural depending on the number of elements they refer to. Understanding plurals is important as plural forms are used frequently in Portuguese. In this lesson, we will look at the rules to form plurals in Portuguese.

Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Conditional Mood, Adjectives, How to Use Be & 0 to A1 Course.

Regular plural formation

In general, to form the plural form of nouns in Portuguese, we add an "-s" at the end of the word. For example:

Portuguese	English
Cão	Dog
Cães	Dogs
Gato	Cat
Gatos	Cats

As can be seen in the above examples, the singular form of the noun "cão" (dog) changes to "cães" (dogs); and the singular form of the noun "gato" (cat) changes to "gatos" (cats). Here are some general rules to form regular plurals in Portuguese:

- For words ending in a vowel, we usually add "-s" at the end of the word. For example: cadeira (chair) - cadeiras (chairs). - For words ending in a consonant, we usually add "-s" at the end of the word. For example: flor (flower) - flores (flowers). - For words ending in "-r", we usually add "-es" at the end of the word. For example: amor (love) - amores (loves). - For words ending in "-l", "-m", "-n", "-z", we usually add "-es" at the end of the word. For example: jornal (newspaper) - jornais (newspapers); irmão (brother) - irmãos (brothers); pão (bread) - pães (breads); voz (voice) - vozes (voices).

Some examples of nouns in plural:

Portuguese	English
Livros	Books
Mesas	Tables
Relógios	Watches
Pincéis	Brushes

Exceptions to the regular rules

While most plurals in Portuguese follow the regular rules we have just seen, there are some exceptions that need to be memorized.

Words ending in "-ês"

Nouns ending in "-ês" usually form their plural by dropping the accent and adding "-es" at the end. For example:

Portuguese	English
Português	Portuguese (singular)
Portugueses	Portuguese (plural)
Talvez	Perhaps (singular)
Talvezes	Perhaps (plural)

Words ending in "-ão"

Nouns ending in "-ão" usually form their plural by dropping the "-ão" and adding "-ões" at the end. For example:

Portuguese	English
Pão	Bread (singular)
Pães	Breads (plural)
Mão	Hand (singular)
Mãos	Hands (plural)

Words ending in "-r" or "-z"

Some words ending in "-r" or "-z" have an irregular plural formation. For example:

Portuguese	English
Amor	Love (singular)
Amores	Loves (plural)
Realizador	Director (singular)
Realizadores	Directors (plural)
Raiz	Root (singular)
Raízes	Roots (plural)

Dialogue

• Person 1: Vou comprar um livro. (I am going to buy a book)
• Person 2: Compre dois livros. (Buy two books)
• Person 1: Ok, vou comprar dois jogos também. (Ok, I am also going to buy two games)
• Person 2: Compre dois jogos diferentes. (Buy two different games)

Cultural notes

- In Portuguese, number and gender agreement is very important. For example, it is incorrect to say "dois livros verdes" (two green books) as "livros" is a masculine noun and "verdes" is a feminine adjective. The correct way is "dois livros verdes" (two green books) but "duas cadeiras verdes" (two green chairs). - Brazilians often use plurals in ways that might sound strange to Portuguese speakers from Portugal. For example, they might say "os físicos" (the physicists) when speaking of a single physicist in a humble or ironic fashion. (this source is Correio Braziliense: [1]) - Portuguese-speaking countries have a rich literary history. Some authors who have contributed to Portuguese literature include Fernando Pessoa, Luís de Camões, Jorge Amado, and José Saramago.

Conclusion

In conclusion, plurals are an important part of Portuguese grammar, and mastering them will greatly improve your communication skills in Portuguese. Remember, practice is key to improving your language skills. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Portuguese Plurals: Using them Might Be Harder than You Think
• Formation of plurals | Learning Portuguese Grammar | Collins ...
• Making Words Plural in Portuguese | Practice Portuguese

Excellent job on conquering this lesson! Consider delving into these related pages: Similarities between Italian and Portuguese, Similarities between French and Portuguese, Future Tense & Time.

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