Language/Portuguese/Grammar/Plural

Plural in Portuguese

General Rule – Regra Geral

Words ending in vowels – add “s”

Singular	Plural	Translation
Carro	carros	Car – cars
Mesa	mesas	Table – tables
Cama	camas	Bed – beds

Words ending in “ão” – Substantivos terminados em “ão”

There are 3 alternatives (depeding on the word):

1. Change “ão” for “ões”

Singular	Plural	Translation
Avião	aviões	airplane – airplanes
Questão	questões	question – questions

1. Change “ão” for “ães”

Singular	Plural	Translation
Pão	Pães	bread – breads
Alemão	alemães	German – Germans

1. Change “ão” for “ãos”

Singular	Plural	Translation

Irmão irmãos brother – brothers |Mão |Mãos |hand – hands

Words ending in “L” – Substantivos terminados em “L”

Ending in al, el, ol or ul – change the “l” for “is”

Singular	Plural	Translation
Animal	animais	animal – animals
Capital	capitais	capital – capitals
Papel	papéis	paper – papers

Words ending in “m” – Substantivos terminados em “m”

Change “m” for “ns”

Singular	Plural	Translation
Nuvem	nuvens	cloud – clouds
Trem	trens	train – trains

Words ending in “r”, “s” or “z” – Substantivos terminados em “r”, “s” ou “z”

Add – “es”

Singular	Plural	Translation
Cobertor	cobertores	blanket – blankets
Mês	meses	month – months
Luz	luzes	light – lights

Words used in the plural form – Substantivos usados somente no plural

Plural	Translation
as calças	pants
as costas	back (part of the body)
os óculos	glasses
os parabéns	congratulations
as férias	vacation