Compound adjectives
Compound Rule
1st element 2nd element
adjective adjective The second element goes to the plural.
 

o carro azul-claro => os carros azul-claros

the light blue car => the light blue cars

 

a parede verde-escura => as paredes verde-escuras

the dark green wall => the dark green walls

 

a língua indo-européia => as línguas indo-européias

the Indo-European language => the Indo-European languages

 

adjective noun invariable
 

a caneta azul-piscina => as canetas azul-piscina

the cyan pen

 

o vestido verde-oliva => os vestidos verde-oliva

the olive green dress => the olive green dresses

 

 

Common irregular plural noun and adjective compounds
 

o arco-íris => os arco-íris (invariable)

the rainbow => the rainbows

 

 

a fruta-pão => as frutas-pães or as frutas-pão or as fruta-pães

the breadfruit

 

 

a criança surda-muda => as crianças surdas-mudas

the deaf-mute child => the deaf-mute children

 

Note

The compound surdo-mudo agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to:

masculine singular => o rapaz surdo-mudo

masculine plural => os rapazes surdos-mudos

feminine singular =>a menina surda-muda

feminine plural => as meninas surdas-mudas

 

 

o raio ultravioleta => os raios ultravioleta (invariable)

the ultraviolet ray => the ultraviolet rays

 

 

o raio infravermelho => os raios infravermelhos (variable)

the infrared ray => the infrared rays

 

 

o louva-a-deus => os louva-a-deus (invariable)

the praying mantis => the praying mantises

 

 


 

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