Portuguese Nouns

Portuguese nouns are an essential part of Portuguese speech. These nouns refer to people, places and things. Common words about a house or friend or the name of a specific personal are the foundation for Portuguese nouns and speech. The rules for these nouns are similar to the guidelines for English. Both Portuguese and English have Latin roots, and this connection is at the center of many Romance languages. Understanding the way Portuguese nouns work is a crucial factor in mastering the grammar of Portuguese writing and speech. While some challenges may exist, it is important to quickly distinguish between different types of Portuguese nouns. Once a person completes this task, he or she will be able to more easily speak or write Portuguese without any errors.

Masculine and Feminine Nouns

Portuguese nouns can be either masculine or feminine. Masculine nouns often end in an –o, while feminine nouns typically end in an –a. If a noun ends with a letter different than one of these two choices, it is helpful to look the word up in a Portuguese-English dictionary. For non-native speakers of Portuguese, there may be some initial confusion about assigning masculine or feminine gender to nouns. This rule is common among most Romance languages, going back to Latin. The use of masculine or feminine gender creates order in writing a sentence or properly speaking the Portuguese language. In turn, it is much easier to learn other Romance languages like Spanish or Italian.

Pairing Nouns with Adjectives

Remembering the gender of a noun is also important when including an adjective. For example: whenever a person describes a noun with an adjective, he or she should change the end of the adjective to make it masculine or feminine. The gender of the adjective must match the gender of the noun. Once again, masculine adjectives often end in –o and feminine adjectives end in –a. Also, the adjective usually comes after the noun. This rule for Portuguese is the opposite of the order used in English. This fact is the main difference between Portuguese and English.

Finally, there are some adjectives that are neutral and remain the same with either masculine or feminine nouns. These adjectives frequently end in –e, as opposed to -o or –a.

These rules make using Portuguese nouns more consistent and easier to understand. By following these instructions, people can more quickly learn how to properly read and write standard Portuguese.