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Where to put Brazilian Portuguese adjectives in a sentence?

By: Fabiana Dametto Oliveira Thu Sep 18 2025
Brazilian portuguese
Adjectives, Sentence Structure

in Brazilian Portuguese are usually placed after the they describe. For example:

nounadjective

a comida deliciosa

the delicious food

However, there are a few types of adjectives in Brazilian Portuguese that must appear before the noun. Also, in a few other cases, there are adjectives that can appear before or after the noun, either as a stylistic choice or to change the meaning. Are you curious to learn more? Keep reading!

What are the basic grammar rules for adjectives in Brazilian Portuguese?

Most “classic” adjectives appear after the noun in Brazilian Portuguese and agree with the noun in and .

nounadjective

a montanha alta

the high mountain

lit. the mountain high

o carro confortável

the comfortable car

lit. the car comfortable

In the first example, the adjective and noun are both feminine singular, while in the second example they are both masculine singular. Check out our post on the forms of adjectives in Brazilian Portuguese for an overview of how adjective agreement works in Brazilian Portuguese.

In general, this placement rule applies to descriptive adjectives (adjectives that give a specific or restrictive quality).

nounadjective

a maçã vermelha
a vermelha maçã

the red apple

vermelha refers to the color of the apple, so it provides information about a specific quality of the noun. It classifies and specifies the noun maçã.
Exception!

Some descriptive adjectives can be used before the noun, under certain conditions. Check out the last section of this post for some examples!

Below are some examples the more general kinds of descriptive adjectives:

  • Colors

    a banana amarela

    the yellow banana

  • Dimensions/directions

    o homem baixo

    the short man

  • Shapes/forms

    o bolo redondo

    the round cake

  • Materials*

    a sacola plástica

    the plastic bag

  • Texture

    o chão molhado

    the wet floor

  • States/conditions

    o caderno rasgado

    the torn notebook

  • Sources

    a água mineral

    the spring water

  • Nationalities

    o homem brasileiro

    the Brazilian man

  • Ideologies

    os estudos budistas

    the Buddhist studies

Tip

In English, we often use noun modifiers, instead of adjectives, to describe the source of a noun or the material it is made out of (e.g. “apple sauce” or “house cat”). In these cases, you’ll use the following structure in Brazilian Portuguese: noun + de(of) + noun

  • bolo de chocolate

    chocolate cake

  • sapatos de couro

    leather shoes

However, adjectives that are not descriptive adjectives may follow different placement rules. Let’s look at some adjectives that must go before the adjective.

Which types of adjectives must go before the noun?

In Brazilian Portuguese, there are also a few types of adjectives that must be placed before the nouns they modify: demonstrative adjectives, superlative adjectives, quantifiers, cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers. Two other kinds of adjectives, indefinite and possessive adjectives, also usually come before the noun, but there are some cases where they may follow it.

For example:

demonstrative adjectivenoun

este dia
dia este

this day

Let’s review each of these kinds of adjectives, along with an example:

  • Demonstrative adjectives → words like “this” or “that”

    este computador

    this computer

    Check out our post on demonstrative adjectives in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more!
  • Superlative adjectives → words like “cleanest” or “least impressive”

    o melhor computador

    the best computer

    Check out our post on superlatives in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more!
    Important

    Note that the comparative adjectives melhor(better), pior(worse), maior(bigger), and menor(smaller) can come either before or after the noun:

    comparative adjectivenoun

    Eles esperam por melhores resultados.

    They wait for better results.

    Eles esperam por dias melhores.

    They wait for better days.

  • Quantifiers → words that give a general quantity, like “many” or “a few”

    poucos computadores

    some computers

    Check out our post on quantifiers in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more!
  • Cardinal Numbers → counting numbers, like “six” or “three hundred”

    dois computadores

    two computers

    Check out our post on numbers in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more!
  • Ordinals → ordering numbers, like “fifth” or “first”

    o segundo computador

    the second computer

    Check out our post on ordinal numbers in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more!
    Exception!

    Ordinals used to name royals or popes usually go after the noun:

    Dom Pedro primeiro

    Don Pedro I

Important

In writing, it is also possible to place adjectives between commas. This is a stylistic choice and can be done to focus attention on the noun.

  • A menina, feliz, caminhava no parque.

    The girl, who was happy, was walking in the park.

  • Os carros, rápidos, passavam pela estrada.

    The cars, which were fast, passed along the road.

In the next section, you’ll see that indefinite adjectives and possessive adjectives are also commonly placed before the noun, with some exceptions.

Where to put indefinite and possessive adjectives in a sentence?

Most of the time, possessive adjectives, like nosso(our), and indefinite adjectives, like muito(lots of) are placed before the noun; however, they can sometimes be placed after the noun for emphasis.

possessive adjective

meu computador

my computer

common

computador meu

my computer

emphasis
indefinite adjective

nenhum computador

any computer

common

computador nenhum

any computer

emphasis
Check out our posts on indefinite words and expressing possession in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more about these words!

Here’s an example of the contrast in a complete sentence:

  • Não tenho nenhum computador.

    I don't have any computer.

    common
  • Não tenho computador nenhum.

    I really don't have any computer.

    emphasis
Exception!

The indefinite adjectives outro, outra(other) and outros, outras(others) can only be placed before the noun.

dia outro
outro dia

another day

When can descriptive adjectives come before the noun?

Though descriptive adjectives in Brazilian Portuguese usually follow the noun they describe, there are a few cases where they may come before the noun instead. This change in position can signify a difference in literal meaning, a difference between a subjective vs. objective description, or a difference in emphasis.

Let’s look at some examples!

To signal a difference in literal meaning

The placement of some adjectives (before or after the noun) can signify a difference in literal meaning. In this case you may translate the adjective with a different word depending on whether it comes before or after the noun. For example:

adjectivenoun

Ele é um simples professor.

He is just a teacher.

Ele é um professor simples.

He is a simple (i.e. unsophisticated) teacher.

For more examples of adjectives whose meaning changes based on placement, check out our list!

To signal difference in style and subjectivity

Sometimes, descriptive adjectives can be used before the noun as a way to clarify that you are describing someone’s subjective or personal experience of a noun, and not its inherent qualities. This position can sound a bit poetic in style. For example:

adjectivenoun

Eles caminharam na noite escura.

They walked in the dark night.

standard

Tudo parecia misterioso naquela escura noite.

Everything seemed mysterious on that dark night.

more poetic; they experienced the night as dark

Here’s another example:

adjectivenoun

Comemos um almoço saboroso.

We ate a tasty lunch.

standard, common

Comemos um saboroso almoço.

We ate a very tasty lunch.

clarifies that it was just your opinion that the lunch was tasty

To provide emphasis

Some adjectives are placed before the noun in order to describe and emphasize it in the sentence.

adjectivenoun

Foi uma viagem longa.

It was a long trip.

standard, common

Foi uma longa viagem.

The trip lasted a long time.

emphasizes how long the trip was

This change in position commonly occurs with adjectives like longo/curto(long/short), bonito(beautiful), triste(sad), rápido(fast), forte(strong), maravilhoso(wonderful), and others.

Tip

In more informal, spoken language, speakers will also stretch out the sound of the adjective to provide emphasis. If you hear someone saying, Foi uma viagem loooonga or Foi uma loooonga viagem, that's because the speaker wants to emphasize the length of the trip.

Remember that, above, we also saw that indefinite and possessive adjectives follow the opposite pattern! They usually come before the noun, but can come after the noun for emphasis.

In summary

Let’s review what we’ve learned about placing adjectives in sentences in Brazilian Portuguese:

  • Most Brazilian Portuguese adjectives are placed after the noun. However, there are some exceptions to this general rule:

    • Demonstratives, superlatives, quantifiers, cardinal numbers, and ordinal numbers, are always placed before the noun.

    • Possessives and indefinites adjectives usually appear before the noun. However, it’s possible to place them after the noun for stylistic purposes.

  • Some adjectives that usually come after the noun can be used before the noun to signal:

    • A difference in literal meaning

    • That a description is subjective rather than objective (a bit poetic)

    • Emphasis

Ready to check what you learned? Go to this activity and practice adjective order in Brazilian Portuguese.

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