The Adjective (O Adjectivo)
 
 
Plural of the Adjectives (Plural dos Adjectivos)
 
Termination
(General Rule)		 Plural Examples
vowel and diphthong + -s triste sad : tristes
mau bad : maus
consonant + -es feliz happy : felizes
elementar elementary : elementares
Termination (Particularities) Plural Examples
-ão changes to -ãos, -ães or -ões são able-bodied : sãos
glutão glutton : glutões
-m changes to -ns jovem young: jovens
bom good : bons
-al, -ol, -ul changes to -is azul blue : azuis
oval oval : ovais
-el changes to -eis moscatel sort of grape : moscatéis
-il stressed changes the  l into s febril feverish : febris
-il unstressed changes to -eis futil futile : fúteis
-ás, -ês, -is + -es português : portugueses
-s, -x remains unchanged simples simple : simples
compound adjectives  only the 2nd element makes plural luso-americana : luso-americanas
 
 
Uniform Adjectives (Adjectivos uniformes)
 
The uniform adjectives have only one form for masculine and feminine. Except for the adjectives ended by -a, the majority of the other uniform adjectives was inherited in Portuguese from the Latin adjectives of the third declension.
 
Termination Feminine Examples
-a unchanged agrícola agricultural
celta Celtic
homicida homicide
indígena indigenous
-e unchanged árabe Arabic
breve brief
doce sweet
-ense, -ante, -ente, inte unchanged ateniense Athenian
coerente coherent
contribuinte tax-paying
hilariante hilarious
-l unchanged

Exception: 

espanhol Spanish : espanhola
 amável amable
artificial artificial
azul blue
frágil fragile
-s (of the paroxitone adjectives) unchanged reles insignificant
simples simple
-ar and -or (in comparative degree) unchanged ímpar impair
inferior inferior
pior worse
vulgar vulgar
-z, -m unchanged

Exception:

andaluz andalusian : andaluza
bom good : boa
 audaz bold
feliz happy
selvagem savage
virgem virgin
 
 
Degree of the Adjectives (Grau dos Adjectivos)
 
Degree Formation Examples
Comparative
of Superiority
 mais + ADJ + que or do que És mais alto que o João.
He is taller than João.
of Equality
 tão + ADJ + como Ela é tão ágil como a mãe.
She is as quick as her mother.
of Inferiority
 menos + ADJ. + que or do que Sou menos hábil que tu.
I am less skilful than you.
Superlative
    
Absolute Synthectic
 as in Latin, with the suffixes:
  • -íssimo  
  • -imo  
  • -rimo 
See the Latin Superlative Degree.		 belo beautiful : belíssimo
feliz happy : felicíssimo
facil easy : facílimo
livre free : libérrimo
Absolute Analytical
 with the adverbs before the adjectives:
  • assaz enough 
  • bastante enough 
  • bem very 
  • imensamente largely 
  • muito very 
 

assaz difícil
bastante largo
bem pobre
imensamente bom
muito fácil
Relative of Superiority
 DEF. ART. +  mais + ADJ. É o mais antigo. 
It is the most ancient.

Foi a mais hábil.
She was the most skilful.
Relative of Inferiority
 DEF. ART. +  menos + ADJ. Foi a menos hábil.
She was the least skilful.
 
The analytical forms follow the pattern of the Latin Periphrastic Degrees.
 
 
Irregular Degrees (Comparativos e Superlativos irregulares)
 
Adjectivo Comparative 
of Superiority		 Superlative
Absolute Relative
bom good melhor better óptimo best o melhor  the best
mau bad pior worse péssimo worst o pior  the worst
grande big maior bigger máximo biggest o maior  the biggest
pequeno little menor lesser mínimo least o menor  the least
 
See the Irregular suppletive degrees in Latin.
 

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