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Plural forms of nouns
To obtain the plural forms of nouns, you can orientate yourself on the following rules:
If a word ends in a vowel (-a, -e, -i, -o or -u), simply add an -s to the end and
voila! you have the plural form:
| um restaurante, uns restaurantes | a restaurant, many restaurants | | uma praia, umas praias | a beach, many beaches | | um carro, uns carros | a car, many cars | | um estudante, uns estudantes | a student, many students |
You have probably noticed that the indefinite article 'um' and 'uma' become
'uns' and 'umas' in the plural. By the way: In English, there are no plural indefinite articles.
For example, in order to say 'uns carros', we would simply use the translations 'many cars', 'some cars' or just
'cars'.
If a word ends in "-m", the plural form is formed by removing this final "-m" and replacing it by "-ns":
| um jardim, uns jardins | a garden, many gardens | | um homem, uns homens | a man, many men |
Similarly, if a noun ends in -l, the final -l is replaced by an -is for the plural forms.
Also, in some cases, the vowel in front of the -is gets an accent:
| um hotel, uns hotéis | a hotel, many hotels | | um jornal, uns jornais | a newspaper, many newspapers |
Unfortunately there is no such simple rule for words that end in -ão or -ãe.
Therefore, you will have to study and memorize the plural forms along with these words.
The good thing is though, that there are not many of those words. Here are a few examples:
| um pão, uns pães | a bread, many breads | | uma ação, umas ações | an action, many actions | | uma mãe, umas mães | a mother, many mothers | | uma mão, umas mãos | a hand, many hands |
Exercise
Based on the rules you have learned on the last page, tell us the correct plural forms of the following Portuguese nouns:
Example:
um cheque
uns cheques
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| 1) um centro | |
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| 2) uma senhorita (woman) | |
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| 3) um jardim | |
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| 4) uma amiga (friend, female) | |
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| 5) uma estação | |
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| 6) um oceano | |
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Course 1
Lesson 1
Course 2
