Articles - Artigos

Definite and Indefinite articles – Artigo Definido e Indefinido

Articles are small words that precede the substantive (a noun).

Definite article​: used to indicate that a thing is unique in some way.

Example:

•​ O ​carro –​ The​ car (O / the – refer to a specific car and not to any car)

​Indefinite article:​ used to indicate that a thing is not identified as unique.

Example​:

•​ Um ​carro – ​A ​car (Um/ A – refer to any car)

In Portuguese the article must agree in gender and number with the noun, which means that the
definite article ​o​, for example, should precede a singular and masculine (as you could see in the
first example - "o carro"). Observe the chart below:

Articles Definite - singular /plural Indefinite - singular / plural

The A - an/ Some

Masculine O / Os Um / Uns (alguns)

Feminine A / As Uma / Umas (algumas)

Examples​:

● o​ livro – the book / ​os​ livros – the books

● um ​carro – a car /​ uns​ carros – some cars
● a ​casa – the house / ​as​ casas – the houses
● uma ​menina – a girl / ​umas​ meninas – some girls