Irregular Comparative: GRANDE → MAIOR

Most Portuguese adjectives use mais to compare things. You usually just put mais before the word. For example, mais feliz means "happier." But grande is a bit of a rebel. It does not like the word mais. It transforms entirely into the word maior. This is called an irregular comparative. It comes from Latin roots that stuck around. You use maior to describe anything that is larger in size. You also use it for things that are greater in intensity. It is a gender-neutral word. This means it stays the same for men and women. That is one less thing for you to worry about! It only changes when you talk about multiple things. Then, it becomes maiores. It is like a grammar traffic light. It tells you to stop using mais and go with maior.

1. 1Learning the pattern is as easy as one, two, three.
2. 2Start with your base adjective, which is grande.
3. 3Identify that you want to compare two things.
4. 4Replace the phrase mais grande with the single word maior.
5. 5If the subject is plural, add -es to get maiores.
6. 6Use the word que or do que to say "than."
7. 7Example: A casa é maior que o carro.
8. 8This means: "The house is bigger than the car."
9. 9You see? No mais is needed. The word maior does all the heavy lifting. It is a compact package of meaning. Just remember: grande plus comparison equals maior.

Use maior whenever you talk about physical dimensions. Are you at a car dealership? You might want a carro maior. Are you ordering a pizza? You definitely want the pizza maior. It is also perfect for abstract concepts. Maybe you have a maior problem than your friend. Or perhaps your love for brigadeiro is maior than mine. You can use it in job interviews too. You might say your experience is maior than other candidates. Use it when asking for directions. "Is the museum in the maior building?" It works for cities, countries, and even feelings. If it can be big, it can be maior. It is a very versatile tool for your belt.

There is one specific time to avoid maior. This happens when you compare two qualities of the same thing. Imagine a suitcase that is more big than it is heavy. In this rare case, you actually say mais grande. "A mala é mais grande do que pesada." This sounds a bit strange, right? It is because you aren't comparing two objects. You are comparing two adjectives for one object. However, this is quite rare in daily life. For 99% of your conversations, stick to maior. Also, do not use maior for age in all contexts. While it can mean "older" in some regions, mais velho is safer. Stick to size and intensity for now. You will avoid many headaches this way.

The biggest mistake is saying mais grande. It is the classic "gringo" error. Native speakers will understand you, but it sounds like a toddler. Imagine someone saying "more big" in English. It feels just a little bit off. Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes when they are tired. But you want to be better than that! Another mistake is forgetting the plural form. If you have two big houses, they are maiores. Don't say casas maior. Always match the number of the objects. Lastly, don't forget the que. Without it, your comparison has no bridge. "Este bolo é maior aquele" is missing its bridge. It should be "Este bolo é maior que aquele."

Portuguese has four main irregular comparatives. They all follow this same "one-word" rule. Bom (good) becomes melhor (better). Mau (bad) becomes pior (worse). Pequeno (small) becomes menor (smaller). And our friend grande becomes maior. Notice how they all end in -or. This is a helpful pattern to memorize. They all behave the same way with gender. They are all neutral! They all use -es for the plural. If you learn how maior works, you learn the others too. It is a "buy one, get three free" deal in grammar. Think of them as the "Irregular Four." They are the VIPs of Portuguese adjectives.