Genero dos substantivos: casos dificeis
Genero dos substantivos: casos dificeis means “Noun gender: tricky cases”. In Portuguese, the gender of each noun must be learned together with the word, because the ending doesn't always reveal it. Formation: o/a + substantivo (genero fixo, distintivo ou comum)
Noun gender: tricky cases
B2Formation
o/a + substantivo (genero fixo, distintivo ou comum)
Explanation
In Portuguese, the gender of each noun must be learned together with the word, because the ending doesn't always reveal it. Many nouns of Greek origin ending in -ma are masculine: o problema, o tema, o sistema, o clima, o dia, o mapa, o planeta; and there are feminine clippings like a foto (fotografia) and a moto (motocicleta). One important group changes meaning depending on gender, told apart only by the article: o capital (money) vs a capital (city), o cabeca (the leader) vs a cabeca (the head), o grama (gram) vs a grama (grass), o radio (radio set) vs a radio (radio station), o caixa (cashier) vs a caixa (box). Common-gender nouns keep the same form and change only the article: o/a estudante, o/a artista, o/a jovem, o/a colega. For Spanish speakers many match (el problema, el mapa, el clima; la foto, la moto), which helps, but watch the divergences: a viagem is feminine in Portuguese while el viaje is masculine in Spanish, and o leite is masculine in Portuguese while la leche is feminine in Spanish.
Examples
Note
Watch the pairs where only the article changes the meaning: 'preciso do meu capital' (money) is very different from 'moro na capital' (city). And don't trust Spanish gender: a viagem, o leite, o sal and a arvore have the opposite gender from viaje, leche, sal and arbol.
FAQ
Genero dos substantivos: casos dificeis — what does it mean and how is it used?
Noun gender: tricky cases. In Portuguese, the gender of each noun must be learned together with the word, because the ending doesn't always reveal it. Many nouns of Greek origin ending in -ma are masculine: o problema, o tema, o sistema, o clima, o dia, o mapa, o planeta; and there are feminine clippings like a foto (fotografia) and a moto (motocicleta). One important group changes meaning depending on gender, told apart only by the article: o capital (money) vs a capital (city), o cabeca (the leader) vs a cabeca (the head), o grama (gram) vs a grama (grass), o radio (radio set) vs a radio (radio station), o caixa (cashier) vs a caixa (box). Common-gender nouns keep the same form and change only the article: o/a estudante, o/a artista, o/a jovem, o/a colega. For Spanish speakers many match (el problema, el mapa, el clima; la foto, la moto), which helps, but watch the divergences: a viagem is feminine in Portuguese while el viaje is masculine in Spanish, and o leite is masculine in Portuguese while la leche is feminine in Spanish.
Genero dos substantivos: casos dificeis — how do you form it?
o/a + substantivo (genero fixo, distintivo ou comum)
Genero dos substantivos: casos dificeis — any usage notes?
Watch the pairs where only the article changes the meaning: 'preciso do meu capital' (money) is very different from 'moro na capital' (city). And don't trust Spanish gender: a viagem, o leite, o sal and a arvore have the opposite gender from viaje, leche, sal and arbol.