Brazilian portugueseAdjectives, Adverbs, Sentence Structure We use superlatives in Brazilian Portuguese to express that something is “the most” or “the least” in respect to a certain quality (e.g. “the most/least tall”). There are two types of superlatives in Brazilian Portuguese: relative superlatives and absolute superlatives.
Relative superlatives describe something with the most or least of a quality in a group. They are formed using o mais(the most) or o menos(the least).
Ele é o menino mais alto da escola.
He is the tallest boy in school.
Absolute superlatives describe something as displaying a quality very intensely. These are formed by adding -íssimo(very):
A few superlatives also have irregularNo definition set for irregularLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. forms.
In this post, we will review how to form both relative and absolute superlatives, along with a few cases of irregular superlatives and informal ways to use the superlative. Eager to learn more? Keep reading this post!
How to use ‘mais’ and ‘menos’ in Brazilian Portuguese superlatives?
We use o mais(the most) and o menos(the least), to form relative superlative adjectives, which describe a nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. with the greatest or smallest amount of a quality within a particular group. These two phrases follow the same general structure:
A mulher mais inteligente do mundo.
The most intelligent woman in the world.
→ do = de(of) + o(the)
O homem mais rico do mundo.
The richest man in the world.
A rua menos bonita da cidade.
The least beautiful street in the city.
→ da = de(of) + a(the)
O restaurante menos caro do bairro.
The most expensive restaurant in the neighborhood.
In a complete sentence, the noun will often come before the verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., so we drop it from within the superlative phrase, to avoid repetition:
nounsuperlative phrase
Este restaurante é o (restaurante) mais caro da cidade.
This restaurant is the most expensive (restaurant) in the city.
Esta rua é a (restaurante) menos bonita da cidade.
This restaurant is the most expensive (restaurant) in the city.
→ This street is the least beautiful (street) in the city.
Though mais and menos do not change their forms, the article and the adjective should still agreeNo definition set for agreeLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in gender and number with the noun! The words mais and menos do not change.
| the most beautiful street |
| the most beautiful streets |
masculine singular (restaurante) | the most expensive restaurant |
masculine plural (restaurante) | os restaurante mais caros the most expensive restaurants |
Did you notice that you can use a superlative to select a whole group of nouns with the most or least of a quality? If you want to talk about one member of such a group, use the structure below:
Copacabana é uma das praias mais bonitas do Rio de Janeiro.
Copacabana is one of the most beautiful beaches of Rio de Janeiro.
What are absolute superlatives in Brazilian Portuguese?
An absolute superlative in Brazilian Portuguese describes nouns as having an extreme amount of some quality, without comparing it to any particular group. It is roughly parallel to saying that something is “very” + adjective in English. There are two ways to form absolute superlatives in Brazilian Portuguese:
using the suffix -íssimo/a
Your house is very beautiful!
using an adverb of intensity, like muito
A sua casa é muito linda!
Your house is very beautiful!
There is very little difference in meaning between the two options. For example:
Another way to evoke the meaning of an absolute superlative is by repeating the adjective:
Essa praia é linda, linda.
This beach is very beautiful.
How to use the ending ‘-íssimo’ in Brazilian Portuguese?
We use the ending -íssimo/a to form a one-word, absolute superlative adjective, with the meaning “very” + adjective: inteligentíssimo, altíssimo, tristíssimo. This ending needs to agree with the noun being described:
inteligentíssimo → masculine singular
inteligentíssima → feminine singular
inteligentíssimos → masculine plural
inteligentíssimas → feminine plural
The process of adding this suffix is also slightly different, depending on whether the adjective ends in a consonant or in a vowel.
Adjectives ending in a vowel
If the adjective ends in a vowel, drop it before adding -íssimo:
beautiful → very beautiful
divertido → divertidíssimo
Adjectives ending in a consonant
If the adjective ends in a consonant, you can just add -íssimo to the end of the adjective:
original → originalíssimo
There are some adjectives ending in consonants that have a slightly irregular form when the suffix -íssimo is added. For example:
Check out this list of irregular one-word superlatives for more examples!
How to use adverbs of intensity in superlatives?
You can also form an absolute superlative by placing an adverb of intensity, most often muito(very) before the adjective. For example:
Several other adverbs of intensity can also be used, without much change in meaning. For example:
All of the adverbs of intensity described above are invariable, meaning that they don't vary in gender and number, but the adjective still agrees with the noun.
In more casual speech, you may hear adverbs of intensity like hiper(hyper), super(super), ultra(ultra), or mega(mega).
In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil, it's also common to use the prefix tri(very) before the adjective to express the absolute superlative:
What are the irregular superlatives in Brazilian Portuguese?
The adjectives bom(good), mau/ruim(bad), grande(big), and pequeno(small) have irregularNo definition set for irregularLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. relative and absolute superlative forms in Brazilian Portuguese. Take a look at the table below to the seem the irregular relative and absolute superlative forms for these adjectives:
Do the irregular relative superlative forms look familiar? They are the same as the
irregular comparative forms but with the addition of the definite article!
These irregular superlatives (both types) are typically used before the noun they describe:
irregular superlativenoun
the best beach in the city
the worst day of the month
The irregular relative superlatives agree with the noun in number, but only the article reflects the gender. The irregular absolute superlatives agree with the noun in gender and number.
In summary
In this post, we reviewed how to use the superlative in Brazilian Portuguese. We saw that there are two kinds of superlatives: relative superlatives and absolute superlatives.
Relative superlatives are used to describe a noun with the “most” or “least” of a quality
o mais(the most) / o menos(the least)
irregular forms: melhor(best), pior(worst), maior(biggest), menor(smallest)
Absolute superlatives are used to describe a noun with a lot of a quality (like “very” + adjective)
adjective + -íssimo(the most), e.g. lindíssimo(very beautiful)
adverb of intensity + adjective, e.g. muito lindo(very beautiful)
irregular forms: ótimo(great), péssimo(terrible), máximo(giant), mínimo(tiny)
Are you ready to practice using the superlative in Brazilian Portuguese with these activities?
To embark on your next language adventure, join Mango on social!
