THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE

A, AN
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
Um
Uma  
Plural
Uns
Umas  

 In English the indefinite article "a" becomes "an" when it precedes a vowel. In Portuguese the indefinite article agrees in gender with the noun it accompanies.

Study the following:


MASCULINE. Um

Eg: Um quarto (a room);        

Um avião (an airplane)


FEMININE. Uma

Eg: uma janela (a window);

Eg: Uma actriz (an actress)
The indefinite article has no plural in English. Portuguese uses plural forms of um and uma {uns and umas, respectively) to express an indefinite plural ("some"): 
Eg: Uns homens (some men);

Eg: Umas mulheres (some women).



 DEFINITE ARCTICLE

THE
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
O
A  
Plural
OS
AS  



In Portuguese, the definite article (just like the indefinite article) has to agree with the gender and the number of the noun it accompanies. See examples below:

Singular:

  • O sobrinho = the nephew / A livro =  the book
  • A sobrinha = the niece / A casa = the house

Plural:

  • Os sobrinhos = the nephews / os livros = the books
  • As sobrinhas = the nieces / As casas = the houses