Posição do adjetivo: casa grande × grande homem
Posição do adjetivo: casa grande × grande homem means “Where the adjective goes: normally after the noun; putting it before adds nuance or, with a few adjectives, changes the meaning”. In Portuguese the adjective normally comes after the noun: uma casa grande, um carro vermelho, um livro interessante. Formation: Padrão neutro: [substantivo] + [adjetivo] (uma casa grande) · Antes do substantivo: sentido subjetivo/figurado · Alguns adjetivos MUDAM de sentido conforme a posição (grande, pobre, velho, simples, certo)
Where the adjective goes: normally after the noun; putting it before adds nuance or, with a few adjectives, changes the meaning
B1Formation
Padrão neutro: [substantivo] + [adjetivo] (uma casa grande) · Antes do substantivo: sentido subjetivo/figurado · Alguns adjetivos MUDAM de sentido conforme a posição (grande, pobre, velho, simples, certo)
Explanation
In Portuguese the adjective normally comes after the noun: uma casa grande, um carro vermelho, um livro interessante. This is the neutral, descriptive and classifying position, the exact opposite of English, where the adjective always precedes the noun. A smaller group of adjectives can go before the noun to sound more subjective, emotional or figurative, and a handful actually change meaning depending on the position: um grande homem is a great man but um homem grande is a big/tall man; um pobre homem is a poor, pitiable man while um homem pobre is a penniless one; um velho amigo is a long-standing friend but um amigo velho is an elderly one; uma simples pergunta is just a question while uma pergunta simples is an easy one; um certo dia means a certain day while uma resposta certa means a correct answer. The pattern is consistent: before the noun the adjective is subjective or figurative, after it literal and objective. This behaves almost identically to Spanish (un gran hombre / un hombre grande, un pobre hombre / un hombre pobre), so Spanish speakers can transfer their intuition directly.
Examples
Note
Default to noun + adjective; that is always safe. Only a small, memorizable set (grande, pobre, velho, simples, certo, novo, grande) flips meaning by position, so learn those as pairs.
FAQ
Posição do adjetivo: casa grande × grande homem — what does it mean and how is it used?
Where the adjective goes: normally after the noun; putting it before adds nuance or, with a few adjectives, changes the meaning. In Portuguese the adjective normally comes after the noun: uma casa grande, um carro vermelho, um livro interessante. This is the neutral, descriptive and classifying position, the exact opposite of English, where the adjective always precedes the noun. A smaller group of adjectives can go before the noun to sound more subjective, emotional or figurative, and a handful actually change meaning depending on the position: um grande homem is a great man but um homem grande is a big/tall man; um pobre homem is a poor, pitiable man while um homem pobre is a penniless one; um velho amigo is a long-standing friend but um amigo velho is an elderly one; uma simples pergunta is just a question while uma pergunta simples is an easy one; um certo dia means a certain day while uma resposta certa means a correct answer. The pattern is consistent: before the noun the adjective is subjective or figurative, after it literal and objective. This behaves almost identically to Spanish (un gran hombre / un hombre grande, un pobre hombre / un hombre pobre), so Spanish speakers can transfer their intuition directly.
Posição do adjetivo: casa grande × grande homem — how do you form it?
Padrão neutro: [substantivo] + [adjetivo] (uma casa grande) · Antes do substantivo: sentido subjetivo/figurado · Alguns adjetivos MUDAM de sentido conforme a posição (grande, pobre, velho, simples, certo)
Posição do adjetivo: casa grande × grande homem — any usage notes?
Default to noun + adjective; that is always safe. Only a small, memorizable set (grande, pobre, velho, simples, certo, novo, grande) flips meaning by position, so learn those as pairs.