Gender, articles, plurals

Short chapter. Compared to German, this is nearly free: two genders, predictable from the ending, and plurals that mostly just add -s.

Grammar

1. The articles

	masculine	feminine
the singular	`o` (oo)	`a` (ah)
the plural	`os` (oos)	`as` (ahs)
a / an	`um` (oong)	`uma` (OO-mah)
some	`uns` (oongs)	`umas` (OO-mahs)

Portuguese uses the definite article far more than English. It appears before possessives (o meu carro), before most countries (o Brasil), and often before names (a Maria). Leaving it out sounds clipped, not wrong.

2. Guessing gender from the ending

Ending	Usually	Examples	Exceptions to memorise
`-o`	masculine	o carro, o quarto, o banco, o dinheiro	—
`-a`	feminine	a casa, a mesa, a conta	o problema (problem), o dia (day), o mapa [+] (map)
`-ão`	masculine	o cartão (card), o pão (bread)	a estação (station), a razão [+] (reason) — abstract `-ção` nouns are feminine
`-e`	either — learn it	o nome, o restaurante · a chave, a cidade
`-or`	masculine	o senhor (sir), o computador [+] (computer)	a dor (pain), a cor [+] (colour)
`-ade`	feminine	a cidade	—
`-l`, `-r`, `-s`, `-z`	usually masculine	o hotel, o hospital, o lugar, o mês	a mulher [+] (woman)

Three rules cover most of it: -o masculine, -a feminine, -ção feminine. The rest you learn with the word, which is why chapter 02 writes the article every time.

Words ending in -ema from Greek are masculine: o problema (problem), o sistema [+] (system), o tema [+] (theme). This trips up everyone.

3. Plurals

Singular ends in	Rule	Example
vowel	add `-s`	`a casa` → `as casas` · `o carro` → `os carros`
`-r`, `-z`, `-s` (stressed)	add `-es`	`o senhor` → `os senhores` · `a vez` → `as vezes` · `o mês` → `os meses`
`-s` (unstressed)	no change	`o ônibus` (bus) → `os ônibus` · `o lápis` [+] (pencil) → `os lápis`
`-m`	`-m` → `-ns`	`o homem` [+] (man) → `os homens` · `bom` (good) → `bons`
`-l`	`-l` → `-is`	`o hotel` → `os hotéis` · `o hospital` → `os hospitais` · `fácil` → `fáceis`
`-ão`	usually `-ões`	`o cartão` → `os cartões` · `a estação` → `as estações`
`-ão` (small group)	`-ães` or `-ãos`	`o pão` (bread) → `os pães` · `a mão` [+] (hand) → `as mãos`

The -ão group is the only messy one. Default to -ões; memorise pão → pães and mão → mãos as exceptions.

4. Agreement

Everything attached to a noun copies its gender and number: the article, the adjective, the possessive.

o carr o pequen o → os carr os pequen os a cas a pequen a → as cas as pequen as

Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant do not change for gender, only for number: grande → grandes, ruim → ruins, fácil → fáceis.

Examples

Singular to plural

Singular	Plural	Respelling of plural
o carro novo	os carros novos	oos KAH-hoos NOH-voos
a casa pequena	as casas pequenas	ahs KAH-zahs peh-KEH-nahs
o hotel caro	os hotéis caros	oos oh-TAYS KAH-roos
o hospital grande	os hospitais grandes	oos os-pee-TAIS GRAHN-jees
o cartão	os cartões	oos kar-TOYNGS
a estação	as estações	ahs es-tah-SOYNGS
o pão quente	os pães quentes	oos PAINGS KEN-chees
o mês	os meses	oos MEH-zees
a vez	as vezes	ahs VEH-zees
o ônibus cheio	os ônibus cheios	oos OH-nee-boos SHAY-oos
o senhor	os senhores	oos seh-NYOH-rees

Agreement in full sentences

Portuguese	Respelling	English
O quarto é pequeno	oo KWAR-too eh peh-KEH-noo	The room is small
A casa é pequena	ah KAH-zah eh peh-KEH-nah	The house is small
Os quartos são pequenos	oos KWAR-toos sowng peh-KEH-noos	The rooms are small
As casas são pequenas	ahs KAH-zahs sowng peh-KEH-nahs	The houses are small
A comida está fria	ah koh-MEE-dah tah FREE-ah	The food is cold
A cerveja está quente	ah ser-VAY-zhah tah KEN-chee	The beer is warm
As lojas estão fechadas	ahs LOH-zhahs es-TOWNG feh-SHAH-dahs	The shops are closed
Os restaurantes são caros	oos hes-tow-RAHN-chees sowng KAH-roos	The restaurants are expensive
A minha mala é grande	ah MEE-nyah MAH-lah eh GRAHN-jee	My suitcase is big
As minhas malas são grandes	ahs MEE-nyahs MAH-lahs sowng GRAHN-jees	My suitcases are big

Indefinite articles

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Um café, por favor	oong kah-FEH poor fah-VOR	A coffee, please
Uma cerveja, por favor	OO-mah ser-VAY-zhah poor fah-VOR	A beer, please
Uma água	OO-mah AH-gwah	A water
Tem um problema	teng oong proh-BLEH-mah	There's a problem
Eu quero uma mesa	eh-oo KEH-roo OO-mah MEH-zah	I want a table
Uns dias	oongs JEE-ahs	A few days
Umas coisas	OO-mahs KOY-zahs	A few things

The definite article where English drops it

Portuguese	Literally	English
O meu carro	the my car	my car
A minha chave	the my key	my key
Eu gosto do café	I like of-the coffee	I like coffee
O Brasil é grande	the Brazil is big	Brazil is big
A comida é boa aqui	the food is good here	Food is good here
Nas [+] terças [+]	on-the Tuesdays	on Tuesdays

What to take from this chapter

-o masculine, -a feminine, -ção feminine. Learn everything else with the article attached.
o problema is masculine. So is o dia.
Plural: add -s; -l becomes -is; -ão becomes -ões.
Article, noun, adjective, and possessive all agree. Change one, change all.
Portuguese uses o/a in places English uses nothing. When in doubt, put it in.