Portuguese · Chapter 2 · Lesson 14 · Grammar primer
Adjectives: agreement and position
An adjective matches its noun in gender and number and usually follows it, the reverse of English habit.
The short version
The adjective agrees even after ser
A Portuguese adjective copies its noun's gender and number wherever it sits, including after ser and estar, where learners forget it most. The gender comes from the noun, not the speaker: a woman describing her car says o carro é novo, because carro is masculine.
A casa é bonita.
Old friend or elderly friend? Check the order
Most adjectives go after the noun. A few change meaning when they move in front: after, they state a fact; before, they say how the speaker sees it. Um amigo velho is an elderly friend, um velho amigo is one you have known for years.
Ele é um velho amigo.
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Lesson 14 of 23 in this chapter