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PORTUGUESE NOUNS
Nouns are terms for designation persons, things, places and animals, like vidro (glass), pastora (pastor), Maria (the name of a woman), pente (comb), and Brasil (Brazil).
Like in English, nouns are one of the major elements of Portuguese speech; it is very important to identify the gender and the number; in gender a noun can be masculine or feminine; and singular or plural in number. The best manner to learn the gender of a noun is to memorize it with its definite article.
Gender of NounsThere are two genders, masculine and feminine. Masculine nouns generally end in an –o as in pássaro (bird), and feminine nouns generally end in an –a as in garota (girl). As in all Romance languages, the grammatical gender of inanimate things is quite arbitrary, and frequently distinct from that used in sister languages.
In Portuguese, when you describe the noun with and adjective, you change the end of the adjective to correspond the gender of the noun. Like nouns, masculine adjectives usually end in -o, and feminine adjectives end in -a. Many adjectives and all articles must be in agreement to the gender and number of the noun they reference:
- esta linda casa branca ("this nice white house")
- este lindo carro branco ("this nice white car")
- estas lindas ovelhas brancas ("these nice white sheeps")
- estes lindos cavalos brancos ("these nice white horses ")
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Masculine NounsIn general nouns ending in -o are masculine:
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Portuguese
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English
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| o padrinho |
the godfather |
| o marido |
the husband |
However there are also other endings which designate a noun is masculine.
- Masculine Nouns ending in -á/e/l/r/m
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Portuguese
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English
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| o xará |
the namesake |
| o conde |
the earl |
| o funil |
the funnel |
| o imperador |
the emperor |
| o homem |
the man |
Exceptions: a cal ( the whitewash), a bacanal (the bacchanal), etc.
- Masculine Nouns of Greek origin ending in -ma
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Portuguese
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English
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| o grama |
the gram |
| o problema |
the problem |
| o fantasma |
the ghost |
- Other masculine nouns ending in -a
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Portuguese
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English
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| o dia |
the day |
| o mapa |
the map |
| o samba |
the samba |
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Feminine NounsIn general nouns ending in -a are feminine:
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Portuguese
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English
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| a garota |
the girl |
| a garrafa |
the bottle |
However there are also other endings which signify a noun is feminine.
- Feminine Nouns ending in -ade/gem/ção/são/ssão/zão
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Portuguese
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English
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| a cidade |
the city |
| a imagem |
the image |
| o falcão |
the falcon |
| a mansão |
the mansion |
| a confusão |
the confusion |
| a sucessão |
the succession |
| a razão |
the reason |
Exception: o coração (heart)
You can often establish the gender of a noun by the noun's ending or by the noun's meaning. Also, because many nouns have both masculine and feminine structures, you may also modify the gender of many nouns by only changing the ending.
The noun's meaning
- The names of male humans and male animals are almost always masculine, for example:
- o irmão = the sobrinho
- o elefante = the elephant
- The names of female humans and female animals are almost always feminine, for example:
- a sobrinha= the niece
- a elefanta = the elephant
- The names of the months of the year are all masculine, for example, o mês de... (The month of...)
- abril = April
- maio = May
- june = junho
- The names of oceans, seas, lakes and mountains are generally masculine, for example:
- o Oceano Atlântico = the Atlantic Ocean
- o Amazonas = the Amazon
- o lago Huron = Lake Huron
- os Bálcãs = the Balkans
- The days of the week are feminine, excepting sábado and domingo, which are masculine:
- a segunda-feira = Monday
- a terça-feira = Tuesday
- a quarta-feira = Wednesday
- a quinta-feira = Thursday
- a sexta-feira = Friday
- o sábado = Saturday
- o domingo = Sunday
» Change the Gender
» Plural of Nouns
» Noun classification
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