Adjectives Ending in a Consonant

Level 1

Most Portuguese adjectives ending in a consonant do not change for gender (e.g., feliz works for both men and women). However, they follow specific rules for pluralization based on their final letter.

How It Works

In Portuguese, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify. For adjectives ending in consonants, this agreement is simpler for gender but more complex for number.

1. Gender Agreement (Uniform vs. Biform)
Most consonant endings are uniform (one form for both masculine and feminine):

  • -l: azul (blue), fácil (easy). Note: The adjective espanhol is a specific exception and is biform (espanhol / espanhola).
  • -z: feliz (happy), capaz (capable). Note: Adjectives of origin ending in -z are biform (e.g., andaluz → andaluza).
  • -r: escolar (school-related).
  • -m: comum (common), jovem (young). Note: The adjective bom (good) is a major exception and is biform (bom / boa).
  • -s: Paroxytone adjectives ending in -s are uniform (e.g., simples (simple)).

However, some endings are biform (change for gender):

  • -or: encantador (charming) (m) / encantadora (charming) (f). Note: Comparative adjectives like melhor (better), pior (worse), superior, inferior, anterior, posterior, interior, and exterior, as well as adjectives ending in -cor (e.g., incolor, multicolor), are uniform and do not change for gender. Additionally, some adjectives ending in -dor or -tor form the feminine by changing to -triz (e.g., motor → motriz, gerador → geratriz).
  • -ês: Many adjectives ending in -ês are biform, including adjectives of origin like português (Portuguese) (m) / portuguesa (Portuguese) (f) (the accent is dropped in the feminine) and others like burguês (bourgeois) (m) / burguesa (bourgeois) (f). However, there are specific uniform exceptions like cortês (polite), descortês (impolite), and pedrês (speckled).

2. Plural Formation
While gender might not change, the plural form usually does for consonant endings (with a few exceptions):

  • -l endings: For words ending in -al, -el, -ol, -ul, drop the -l and add -is. Note that stressed -el becomes -éis (cruel → cruéis) and unstressed -el becomes -eis (móvel → móveis, amável → amáveis). Adjectives ending in -ol are stressed on the last syllable and always become -óis (espanhol → espanhóis). For words ending in -il, if stressed (oxytone), drop the -l and add -s (gentil → gentis); if unstressed, change -il to -eis (fácil → fáceis).
  • -z and -r endings: Add -es (feliz → felizes).
  • -m endings: Change -m to -ns (comum → comuns).
  • -s endings: If stressed (oxytones), add -es and drop the accent (português → portugueses). If unstressed (paroxytones), the form is invariable (simples → simples).

Note on Feminine Plurals: For biform adjectives, once the adjective is made feminine (ending in -a), it simply takes a standard -s for the plural (e.g., espanhol → espanhóis, but espanhola → espanholas; encantadora → encantadoras).

Examples (5)

  1. Ele é um homem feliz, e ela é uma mulher feliz.

    He is a happy man, and she is a happy woman.

    Word by Word: He is a man happy, and she is a woman happy.

    Notice that 'feliz' remains the same regardless of whether the noun is masculine (homem) or feminine (mulher).

  2. Comprei duas camisas azuis para o verão.

    I bought two blue shirts for the summer.

    Word by Word: I bought two shirts blue for the summer.

    The adjective 'azul' ends in -l, so the plural form changes the -l to -is (azuis).

  3. Estes exercícios são muito difíceis.

    These exercises are very difficult.

    Word by Word: These exercises are very difficult.

    For adjectives ending in -il, the plural becomes -eis (difícil -> difíceis).

  4. Eles são jovens muito inteligentes.

    They are very intelligent young people.

    Word by Word: They are young very intelligent.

    The adjective 'jovem' ends in -m, which changes to -ns in the plural (jovens).

  5. O problema é simples, mas as soluções não são simples.

    The problem is simple, but the solutions are not simple.

    Word by Word: The problem is simple, but the solutions not are simple.

    Because 'simples' is a paroxytone (stressed on the first syllable) ending in -s, it does not change in the plural.

Common Mistakes

  • Creating a feminine form for uniform adjectives (e.g., 'azula').

    A mochila é azula.
    A mochila é azul.

    Adjectives ending in -l do not have a feminine form. 'Azul' is used for both masculine and feminine nouns.

  • Pluralizing -l adjectives by just adding -s.

    Os carros azuls.
    Os carros azuis.

    In Portuguese, words ending in -l must drop the -l and add -is to become plural.

  • Treating comparatives ending in -or as biform adjectives.

    Esta é a melhora ideia.
    Esta é a melhor ideia.

    While most -or adjectives like 'encantador' change to 'encantadora', comparative adjectives like 'melhor' (better) or 'maior' (bigger) are uniform and do not change gender.

How It Connects

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Adjectives Ending in a ConsonantLevel 1

Learn This First

To understand adjectives ending in a consonant, you first need to grasp the basic concept of adjective-noun agreement in Portuguese. Since these adjectives often end in 'r' or 'z', you must also know how to form their plurals (adding -es). Finally, recognizing standard gender markers helps you identify that these specific adjectives are unique because they do not change their form for masculine or feminine nouns.