In Portuguese, adjectives change form depending on the gender and number of the noun. Similarly to English, they can also be expressed in different grausdegrees :
- grau normalpositive degree
- grau comparativocomparative degree
- grau superlativosuperlative degree
Positive Degree
This is the basic form of each adjective. We use it to qualify a noun without making any comparisons.
A Joana é uma rapariga feliz.Joana is a happy girl.
O teste foi fácil.The test was easy.
Comparative Degree
You use the comparative degree to… you guessed it: compare!
A Joana é mais feliz que o Pedro.Joana is happier than Pedro.
A Joana é mais inteligente que estudiosa.Joana is more smart than studious.
In the first sentence, we’re comparing the happiness of two different people. In the second, we’re comparing two different attributes of the same person.
The comparative degree can be further divided into:
- Superiority: This type expresses the idea of “more ___ than” using the adverb maismore . The format is mais + adjective + que or do que.
O meu trabalho é mais difícil (do) que o teu.My work is more difficult than yours.
- Inferiority: This type expresses the idea of “less ___ than” using the adverb menosless . The format is menos + adjective + que or do que.
Esta casa é menos bonita que a outra.This house is less beautiful than the other.
- Equality: This type expresses the idea of “as ___ as“ using the adverb tãoas, so . The format is tão + adjective + the conjunctions como or quanto.
Os meus ténis são tão bons como os teus.My sneakers are as good as yours.
Superlative Degree
The superlative degree is used when the attribute indicated by the adjective is present at a level greater than normal. It’s the only degree in which the adjectives themselves are modified, instead of just complemented by other words.
The superlative is further divided in two forms:
- Absolute superlative: This form is used to talk about possessing a high level of a certain quality. In English, we would use adverbs such as very before the adjective.
- Relative superlative: This form is used when you want to talk about the highest level of that quality in comparison to others. In English, this is where we would use words like most and least, or the suffix -est.
Let’s see some examples of both types:
Absolute Superlative
There are two possible ways to write an adjective in the superlativo absoluto and both have the same meaning.
- The first way is by adding an adverb that indicates excess before the adjective. This could be an adverb like excessivamenteexcessively or imensamenteimmensely , but the most common one is muitovery Lisboa é muito bonita.Lisbon is very beautiful.
- The second way is to transform the adjective itself by adding the suffix -íssimo. For example, fértilfertile becomes:
fertilíssimovery fertile
Variations
There are a few variations for adding the suffix that depend on how the adjective is spelled:
- If the adjective ends with a vowel, you need to remove that vowel before adding -íssimo
O vestido é belo. O vestido é belíssimoThe dress is beautiful. The dress is extremely beautiful.
- If the adjective ends in -vel, you drop those three letters and add the suffix -bilíssimo instead
Um homem amável. Um homem amabilíssimo.A lovely man. An extremely lovely man
- If it ends with -z, you remove it and add -císsimo
O João é feliz. O João é felicíssimo.John is happy. John is extremely happy.
- Also note that these suffixes must agree in gender and number with the noun being modified, so the final -o could become -a, -os, or -as.
Relative Superlative
The superlativo relativo is a little simpler, as it just involves some slight modifications to the comparative form. The structure is: definite article (o, a) + comparativo + de
There are two forms:
- Relative superlative of superiority: o/a + mais + de
Este rapaz é o mais feliz do grupo.This boy is the happiest of the group.
- Relative superlative of inferiority: o/a + menos + de
Esta rapariga é a menos feliz do grupo.This girl is the least happy of the group.
The term possívelpossible , or another equivalent expression, can also be used to form the superlative relativo.
A casa é a mais barata possível.The house is the cheapest possible.
Usage
There are a few very common Portuguese adjectives which are exceptions to the rules we’ve just covered. They use a completely different word in their comparative and superlative forms, similar to how English uses the word “better” instead of “more good than” and “the best” instead of “the most good”.
| Normal | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| bomgood(masc.) or boagood(fem.) | melhorbetter | ótimo or o melhorthe best |
| maubad(masc.) or mábad(fem.) | piorworse | péssimo or o piorthe worst |
| grandebig | maiorbigger | máximo or o maiorthe biggest |
| pequenosmall(masc.) or pequenasmall(fem.) | menorsmaller | mínimo or o menorthe smallest |
Note: Pequeno is not a total exception, because the construction mais pequeno que is also absolutely acceptable and probably more often used than menor.
Would this be accurate? “Este relatório não só é mau; é tão pior dos outros, é péssimo!” Or, “Esta tubarão é tão grande, não só é maior das outras, é máximo!”
Thanks for correcting 🙂
Not quite accurate, and the main problem is with “dos/das” – this preposition alone doesn’t let you establish a comparison, so you can’t pair it on its own with “tão” or “não só”. The sentences also don’t sound natural, but I understand that this is more of an exercise to get you to use all the different degrees! This would be better: “Este relatório não é só mau; é tão pior do que os outros, é péssimo!” (This report isn’t just bad; it’s so much worse than the others, it’s the worst/terrible!). | “Este tubarão é tão grande; é maior do que os outros. É o maior!” (This shark is so big; it’s bigger than the others. It’s the biggest!).
Just a note: Grammatically speaking, “máximo” is indeed the superlative form of “grande”. But in the real world, we don’t use “máximo” like that for physical size, but for abstract greatness. For example, if you hear someone say “Tu és o máximo!”, they’re saying “You’re the best!”, not “You’re the biggest!” 🙂
Thank you, Joseph! That helps 🙂
So, you mean to tell me that when using the comparative degree, “que” and “do que” are essentially interchangeable? If so, that is great news, as I’ve been struggling with when one versus the other should be used.
Yes! You can use either one 🙂
Is there a rule about when you use quanto versus como after tão or are these interchangable?
Olá, Jackie. They’re interchangeable 🙂
Should also the word máximo be in the superlative column for grande (in the Usage table)?
Yes, it should! Probably a glitch, but it’s already been fixed – thank you 🙂
Thanks for the awesome content as always!
One question, and I may be wrong here—are the superlatives perhaps switched in the first section? To me, it would make more sense for the absolute superlative to be the best/worst/etc whereas it is noted as the very equivalent. They seem to switch meanings further on in the lesson.
So we have 3 degrees: positive, comparative (divided into superiority, inferiority, and equality), and superlative (divided into absolute and relative).
For example:
small -> smaller than or as small as -> very small (absolute) or the smallest (relative)
See how it moves from just the normal level up to the more extreme level? When we zoom in on the superlative level: that can be absolute (very small) or relative (the smallest).
Relative superlatives indicate that something is at the highest degree in comparison to a larger group (“I ate the smallest piece of pizza”), whereas absolute basically just means “not relative”. Absolute indicates a high degree, but it’s not comparing it. So you could say “My piece of pizza was incredibly small!”, which tells you the piece was very small, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the smallest piece.
So instead of thinking of “absolute” as meaning the “ultimate” level, just think of it as meaning “not relative” / “independent” of context. Make sense?
Overall, don’t worry too much about all this grammar lingo. It’s just one way to organize it and think about it. As long as you know how to say that something is more than / less than / the most / the least / extremely ___ / very ____ / as ___ as / etc, you should be all set. 🙂
I think the definitions for absolute superlative and relative superlative are interchanged?
To me, the “absolute” is the MOST, the BEST. “This boy is the happiest of the group.”.
The relative superlative is not the BEST, but it is towards the extreme: “Lisbon is very beautiful.”
Olá! The terms absolute and relative aren’t differentiated by intensity, but rather, by whether or not the element we’re qualifying is being directly compared against a group. We use “relative” to express that in relation to a certain group, the attribute is at its highest degree (e.g. John is the best student in his class). We use “absolute” to indicate that the attribute is at a high degree per se, without relating it to anything else (e.g. John is a great student). Molly also wrote a detailed comment about this just above yours 🙂
I’m having a hard time grasping all this. Can your example sentences go into smart review? And any thoughts about developing some quizzes around this learning note? I need many more examples!
Yes, all of the example sentences can be added to Smart Review. This Learning Note is part of this unit: Comparative & Superlative Adjectives, so it is followed by 9 Lessons (quizzes) that let you practice what you’ve learned. The phrases from those lessons can also be added to Smart Review at the end of each lesson. Give those a try and let me know if there are parts where you would like to see more examples, or if you have any questions that we could clarify further in the Learning Note.
A mobília é mais pequena do que o esperado. – not “a esperada”
Dificílimo and facílimo. Can they be replaced with -íssimo?
Thanks as always
‘O esperado’ is correct. A longer way to write this sentence would be something like “A mobília é mais pequena do que aquilo que era esperado” (The furniture is smaller than what was expected) -> you can better see here that the ending clause is supposed to be more general/abstract, without gender agreement with the noun ‘mobília’.
About ‘dificilíssimo’ and ‘facilíssimo’, some dictionaries include these alternate forms, but most Portuguese would consider them incorrect, if asked. ‘Dificílimo’ and ‘facílimo’ are strongly enforced as the preferred forms.