Plural Formation: -S

Portuguese is a very "organized" language. It loves harmony and balance. When one word becomes plural, its friends usually follow along. This is called agreement. If you have two cars, the word for "the" changes. The word for "red" changes too. Everything in the phrase gets an s at the end. It is like a team uniform for your sentences. If the noun is wearing an s, the adjective wants one too. This applies to almost all words ending in a, e, i, o, or u. It is a very rhythmic way of speaking. You will start to hear the "s" sound everywhere. It sounds a bit like a gentle hiss at the end of words. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. The s tells everyone that we are talking about a group. It keeps the flow of the conversation moving smoothly. You will find that it becomes second nature very quickly.

1. 1Look at the very last letter of the word.
2. 2Check if that letter is a vowel (a, e, i, o, u).
3. 3If it is a vowel, simply add an s to the end.
4. 4Change the article o to os or a to as.
5. 5If there is an adjective, add an s to that as well.
6. 6Example: o carro (the car) becomes os carros (the cars).
7. 7Example: a casa branca becomes as casas brancas.
8. 8Example: o estudante becomes os estudantes.
9. 9Remember that words ending in i or u are less common but follow the same rule.
10. 10O urubu becomes os urubus. It is that simple!

Use this rule whenever you have two or more of something. Imagine you are at a beautiful market in Lisbon. You want to buy three oranges. You would ask for três laranjas. If you are at a cafe with a friend, you order dois cafés. It is essential for daily life and basic survival. You will use it when giving your phone number (digits are plural). Use it when talking about your hobbies or your favorite filmes. It is also vital for describing people. If you see a group of happy children, they are crianças felizes. (Wait, feliz ends in z, but we will get to that later!). For now, focus on those vowel endings. They are everywhere in Portuguese. From amigos to janelas, the s is your best friend. It makes you sound like you actually know what you are doing. Even if you are still figuring out the rest!

This rule is a "Vowels Only" VIP club. If a word ends in a consonant, it does not get this simple s. Words ending in r, s, z, m, or l have their own rules. For example, homem does not become homems. It becomes homens. Words ending in ão are also a bit tricky. They like to be special and change to ões or ães. Also, don't add an s to verbs when you mean plural nouns. Verbs have their own conjugation system. If you are talking about one thing, keep the s away. Adding an s to a singular noun will confuse people. It is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Stick to the vowel-ending nouns and adjectives for this rule. If the word ends in a consonant, just take a breath. You will learn those patterns next. For now, keep it simple and stick to the vowels.

The most common slip-up is "The Lonely Noun." This is when you pluralize the noun but forget the article. Saying o carros sounds very strange to a Portuguese ear. Always remember to change o to os. Another classic mistake is "The Lazy Adjective." You might say as casas bonito. Nope! It must be as casas bonitas. Everything must match in the plural party. Some people also try to add an s to words that are already plural. Or they forget that some words like lápis already end in s. For lápis, the word doesn't change at all! You just change the article: o lápis to os lápis. Don't worry, even native speakers mess this up when they are tired. Just keep practicing the "everything matches" rule. It is the golden rule of Portuguese plurals. If you see one s, you should probably see more.

English speakers have a head start here. We also add s to make things plural. "Car" becomes "cars." Easy, right? But Portuguese is more demanding. In English, we say "the big cars." The words "the" and "big" don't change. In Portuguese, they do! O carro grande becomes os carros grandes. This is the biggest hurdle for English learners. You have to think about the whole phrase, not just the noun. Spanish is very similar to Portuguese in this regard. If you know a little Spanish, you will feel right at home. However, watch out for the pronunciation. In Portuguese, the final s can sound like a "sh" in some regions. In Rio de Janeiro, casas sounds like "caz-ash." In São Paulo, it sounds more like a sharp "s." Both are correct, so don't stress about the accent too much.