Singular and plural
The singular and the plural indicate the inflection in number of the words.
The singular indicates only one being.
The plural indicates two or more beings.
Although there are several grammatical classes that allow inflection in number: nouns, adjectives, articles, pronouns, numerals and verbs, the plural formation rules of the Portuguese language affect the formation of the plural of nouns.
Rules for forming the plural of nouns
The main plural formation rule states that you must add -s to the singular noun:
- female friend – female friends;
- cake – cakes;
- trophy – trophies;
- step – steps.
This rule mainly refers to nouns ending in vowels or diphthongs. There are, however, other rules for forming the plural of nouns that do not have these endings.
Nouns ending in -r, -z and -s
Forming the plural of nouns ending in -r, -z and -s is done by adding -es to the singular noun.
-r singular to -res plural :
- woman women;
- hamburger – hamburgers;
- sugar – sugars;
- sea – seas;
- bar — bars.
-z singular to -zes plural :
- root – roots;
- pregnancy – pregnancies;
- ostrich – ostriches;
- boy – guys.
-s singular to -ses plural :
- portuguese – portuguese;
- country – countries;
- setback – setbacks;
- customer – customers.
Exception to the rule : When nouns ending in -s are paroxytones, the plural formation is invariable:
- pencil – pencil;
- atlas – atlas;
- saucer – saucer;
- bus – bus;
- virus – virus.
Nouns ending in -o
The formation of the plural of nouns ending in -ão can be done in three different ways: -ões, -ãos, -ães.
-ão singular to -ões plural :
Most nouns ending in -ão form the plural with -ões:
- opinion – opinions;
- heart – hearts;
- election – elections.
-ão singular to -ãos plural :
All paroxytone nouns ending in -ão form the plural with -ãos. Some oxytone nouns also have their plural formed according to this rule:
- orphan – orphans;
- attic – attics;
- organ – organs;
- citizen – citizens;
- brother – brothers;
- Christian – Christians.
-ão in the singular to -ães in the plural :
Some nouns ending in -ão form the plural with -ães.
- bread – buns;
- captain – captains;
- German – Germans;
- charlatan – charlatans.
-ão singular for two plural forms :
Some nouns ending in -ão admit two (or even three) plural forms:
- chorus – choruses or choruses;
- handrail – handrails or handrails;
- guardian – guardians or guardians;
- villain – villains, villains or villains.
Nouns ending in -l
The formation of the plural of nouns ending in -l follows two rules. In nouns ending in -al, -el, -ol and -ul, -l is replaced by -is. For nouns ending in -il, -l is replaced by -s if they are oxytones and -il is replaced by -eis if they are paroxytones.
-al, -el, -ol, -ul singular to -ais, -éis, -óis, -uis plural :
- clothesline – clotheslines;
- rent – rents;
- sheet – sheets;
- paul – pauls.
-il singular to -is plural :
- kennel – kennels;
- rifle – rifles;
- refill – refis.
-il in the singular to -eis in the plural :
Nouns ending in -m
The formation of the plural of nouns ending in -m is done by replacing -m with -ns.
-m singular to -ns plural :
- garage – garages;
- garden – gardens;
- bonbon – bonbons.
Nouns ending in -n
The formation of the plural of nouns ending in -n can be done by adding the consonant -s or by adding -es.
-n singular to -ns or -nes plural :
- pollen – pollens or pollens;
- hyphen – hyphens or hyphens;
- abdomen – abdomens or abdomens.
Nouns ending in -x
The formation of the plural of nouns ending in -x is invariable, maintaining the same form of the word in the singular.
-x singular to -x plural :
- the chest – the chests;
- the latex – the latexes;
- the onyx – the onyxes.
Particularities in the formation of the plural
Some words have some peculiarities with the formation of the plural.
Changing from ô to ó with the formation of the plural
In some words there is a change in pronunciation with the formation of the plural. Words with the closed tonic (ô) in the singular change to the open tonic (ó) in the plural. This change in pronunciation does not occur in all words with the tonic closed in the singular.
ô in the singular to ó in the plural :
- egg – eggs;
- crooked – crooked;
- game – games;
- pig – pigs.
ô in the singular that maintains ô in the plural :
- spouse – spouses;
- pocket – pockets;
- lunch – lunches;
- agreement – agreements.
Stressed syllable change with the formation of the plural
In some words there is an alteration of the stressed syllable with the formation of the plural:
- character – characters (from rá to te);
- junior – juniors (from jú to o);
- senior – seniors (from se to o).
Change in meaning with the formation of the plural
In some words there is a change in meaning with the formation of the plural:
- good (properly) – goods (possessions);
- vacation (remuneration) – vacation (rest);
- grandmother (grandma) – grandmothers (two grandmothers or grandfather and grandmother or ancestors);
- father (papa) – parents (two fathers or father and mother).
Note : Some nouns are mostly used in the plural: congratulations, glasses, darkness, tasks, confines,…
Rules for forming the plural of compound nouns
The above rules refer to the formation of the plural of simple nouns. The rules for forming the plural of compound nouns are different. May occur:
- the inflection of the two elements that form the word, as in mondays;
- just the inflection of the first element that forms the word, as in the sugar canes;
- just the inflection of the second element that forms the word, as in jigsaw puzzles;
- the non-flexibility of the elements, which remain invariable, as in os cola-tudo.
