Nouns (e.g.: coisa, cão, amor, mesa, mulher, homem, etc.)

Questions about Nouns

Q: Why is it Comprei as verduras and NOT Comprei os verduras?
Determiners (and adjectives) must agree in gender and number with the noun:

• as verduras (feminine plural)

• ❌ os verduras

Q: Why is it dois jovens and NOT dois jovems?
Nouns ending in -m form the plural in -ns:

• jovem → jovens

• homem → homens

Q: Why is it Eu leio um livro and NOT Eu leio uma libra?
These are different words:

• livro = book

• libra = pound (weight or currency)

👉 Always learn vocabulary carefully—some words look similar but mean different things.

Q: Why is it somos os Silva and NOT somos os Silvas?
Family names are usually unchanged in the plural:

• os Silva, os Costa, os Pereira

Q: Why is it o estudante tem muitos lápis and NOT lápizes?
Words ending in -s (unstressed) often do not change in the plural:

• o lápis / os lápis

👉 The article shows number.

Q: Why is it a água está fria and NOT o água está fria?
In Portuguese, água is simply feminine:

• a água fria

• as águas frias

👉 Unlike Spanish, Portuguese does not switch to a masculine article.

🔑 Key point

• Agreement is essential (gender + number)

• Plurals follow predictable patterns (-ns, invariant forms, etc.)

• Portuguese differs from Spanish in key areas (e.g., a água, not el agua)