In this lesson, we will talk about the plural in Portuguese, how to form them, and some irregular forms. followed by examples.
First of all, I like to make it clear that forming the plural in Portuguese doesn’t follow a one single rule, that depends on the endings and there are of course some irregulars, in this guide we will talk about the main forms.
Form 1: Words ending with “r” or “es”: add “es” to the end
Examples:
- Cruz (cross) – cruzes
- Mar (sea) – mares
Form 2: Words ending with “al”, “el”, “ol”, “ul”: replace “l” with “is”.
Examples:
- Canal (channel) – canais
- Pastel (pastry) – pastéis
Exception: mal (bad) – males
Form 3: Words ending with “m”: replace “m” with “n” then add “s” to the end.
Example: Homem (man) – homens
Form 4: Words ending with “ãe” or a vowel: add “s” to the end.
Examples:
- Mesa (table) – mesas
- Mãe (mother) – Mães
- Linda (beautiful) – lindas
Form 5: Words ending with “s”: add “es” to the end.
Examples: País (country) – Países
Some words like “o lápis” (pencil) keep the same form in plural: os lapis
Form 6: Words ending with “ão”: replace “ão” with “ões”.
Examples:
- Coração (heart) – corações
- Leão (lion) – leões
Some exceptions:
- Mão (hand) – mãos
- Cão (dog) – cães
Practice what you’ve just learnt and try to form the plural of some nouns that we’ve seen.
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Happy learning!