A noun is a word that names beings, objects, places, phenomena, qualities, states, and actions, whether concrete or abstract. They constitute an essential grammatical class in the Portuguese language, allowing us to identify and describe the world around us and express our ideas and feelings.

1. Classification of Nouns

Nouns can be classified in various ways, according to their characteristics and functions in the language:

Concrete vs. Abstract

  • Concrete Nouns: Name beings or objects that have their own independent existence, whether real or imaginary. These include people, animals, plants, physical objects, and fictional beings.Examples:dog, mountain, fairy, star, tree.
  • Abstract Nouns: Name qualities, states, actions, feelings, or ideas that depend on other beings to manifest. They have no physical existence and are perceived through the mind or emotions.Examples:love, happiness, courage, intelligence, sadness.

Common vs. Proper

  • Common Nouns: Designate beings or objects in a generic way, without individualizing them within their species or class.Examples:city, river, person, country, profession.
  • Proper Nouns: Name a specific being, place, or object, individualizing it. They are always written with a capital letter.Examples:Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Maria, Amazon, Everest.

Simple vs. Compound

  • Simple Nouns: Formed by a single word or root, without the union of other elements.Examples:flower, sun, sea, book, coffee.
  • Compound Nouns: Formed by the union of two or more words or roots that together create a new meaning.Examples:umbrella, hummingbird, Monday, pansy.

Primitive vs. Derivative

  • Primitive Nouns: Do not derive from other words in Portuguese; they serve as the basis for the formation of new words.Examples:stone, house, flower, iron, bread.
  • Derivative Nouns: Formed from primitive words, usually through affixes (prefixes or suffixes).Examples:stonemason (from stone), mansion (from house), florist (from flower), horseshoe (from iron), baker (from bread).

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns designate a group of beings or objects of the same species, even when in the singular.

Examples: Fleet: group of vehicles (ships, buses, planes) Cast: group of actors

Archipelago: group of islands Pack: group of wolves

2. Noun Inflection

Nouns inflect in gender, number, and degree.

Gender Inflection

Gender inflection indicates the variation between masculine and feminine. In Portuguese, gender is generally identified by the article that precedes the noun or by the word ending.

A. Two-Form Nouns

Have two distinct forms for masculine and feminine, usually with variation in the ending.

Examples:

  • Masculine: the boy, the cat, the teacher, the friend
  • Feminine: the girl, the cat, the teacher, the friend

B. Uniform Nouns

Use the same form for both genders and are subdivided into:

  • Common Gender: The word is the same for masculine and feminine, and gender is indicated by the article or another accompanying word.Examples:the student, the journalist, the dentist, the client
  • Common of One Gender: Have a single grammatical gender, regardless of the sex of the being referred to. Gender is identified by context.Examples:the child, the witness, the victim, the spouse, the individual
  • Epicene: Used to designate animals, they have only one grammatical gender. Sex distinction is made by the words "male" or "female".Examples:the snake male/female, the alligator male/female, the jaguar male/female
  • Heteronyms: Present different roots for masculine and feminine.Examples:man→ woman, bull→ cow, horse→ mare, father→ mother, bull→ cow

Number Inflection

Number inflection indicates whether the noun is in singular or plural form.

A. Singular

Designates a single being, object, or idea.

Examples:book, tree, car, city

B. Plural

Designates two or more beings, objects, or ideas. The main rules for plural formation are:

  • Nouns ending in vowel or oral diphthong: Add s.Examples:house → houses, hat → hats, father → fathers
  • Ending in -r, -s or -z: Add es.Examples:flower → flowers, light → lights, sea → seas
  • Ending in -m: Change m to ns.Examples:man → men, garden → gardens
  • Ending in -l:
    • If the stress is on the last syllable, replace l with is.

        Examples:lantern → lanterns, paper → papers

    • If the stress is not on the last syllable, replace l with eis.

        Examples:fossil → fossils, reptile → reptiles

  • Ending in -ão:Can form plurals in -ões, -ães or -ãos.
    • ões: heart → hearts, lion → lions
    • ães: bread → breads, captain → captains
    • ãos: brother → brothers, citizen → citizens

Note: As there is no fixed rule, it is recommended to consult a dictionary to confirm the plural of words ending in -ão.

  • Invariable nouns: Some nouns do not change in the plural; the article indicates the number.Examples:the pencil → the pencils, the bus → the buses, the thorax → the thoraxes

Degree Inflection

Degree inflection expresses variations in size or intensity of the noun, indicating either increase (augmentative) or decrease (diminutive).

  • AugmentativeExpresses amplification of size or intensity.

Analytic: The noun is combined with an adjective indicating largeness.

Synthetic: A suffix is added to the noun.

  • DiminutiveExpresses reduction in size or intensity, and can also convey affection or contempt.

Analytic: The noun is combined with an adjective indicating smallness.

Synthetic: A suffix is added to the noun.

Note: The use of diminutive can express affection, endearment or, depending on the context, irony and contempt.

Number Inflection

Number inflection indicates whether a noun is singular or plural. The standard Portuguese language recognizes noun number inflection in singular or plural.

According to number, nouns are classified as:

Singular: word that designates a single thing, person, or group.Examples: book, tree.

Plural: word that designates multiple things, people, or groups.

  • The most common rule for forming plurals is adding the ending -s to the end of the word:house → houses plate → plates father → fathers
  • Plural formation with -es: when the thematic vowel is not explicit in the singular, -es is added in the plural form. This occurs in oxytone words ending in:-s (in stressed syllable): month – months; country – countries.-z (in stressed syllable): nose – noses; root – roots; capable – capable.-r: flower – flowers.
  • Oxytone nouns ending in -il form the plural in -is:funnel → funnelsbarrel → barrelsprofile → profiles
  • Plural of stressed -ão nouns: words ending in -ão can form the plural in three ways: -ões, -ãos, or -ães. Most form the plural in -ões:Lion – lions; Heart – hearts; Airplane – airplanes; Melon – melons; Opinion – opinions.
  • Words ending in -l form the plural with -is:animal → animalschannel → channelslighthouse → lighthouses
  • There are also cases of invariable nouns that do not change in the plural. The article indicates the number in these cases. Nouns ending in -x or paroxytones and proparoxytones ending in -s generally remain invariable:the pencil → the pencilsthe phoenix → the phoenixesthe saucer → the saucers

Degree Inflection:

Nouns can be inflected in degree, indicating variations in size or intensity. This inflection is divided into two main types: augmentative and diminutive.

  • AugmentativeThe augmentative degree expresses an amplification of the size or intensity of the noun. It can be formed in two ways:Analytic: The noun is combined with an adjective that denotes largeness. Example: giant tree, huge building.Synthetic: A suffix is added to the noun to indicate increase. Example: big tree, big building.
  • DiminutiveThe diminutive degree expresses a reduction in size or intensity of the noun. It can also be formed in two ways:Analytic: The noun is combined with an adjective that denotes smallness. Example: small flower, small dog.Synthetic: A suffix is added to the noun to indicate diminution. Example: little flower, little dog.

It's important to note that the use of degree, especially the diminutive, can also express affection, endearment, or contempt, depending on the context.

3. Formation of Nouns

Before classifying nouns, it is fundamental to understand their origin and formation. The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit that makes up words, giving them meaning. Based on this concept, we identify the morphic elements of any word.

Nouns can be formed through various processes of derivation and composition:

  • Prefixal: Addition of a prefix to the root. Example: unhappy (un + happy).
  • Suffixal: Addition of a suffix to the root. Example: happiness (happy + ness).
  • Prefixal and Suffixal: Simultaneous addition of prefix and suffix. Example: unhappily (un + happy + ly).
  • Parasynthesis: Simultaneous addition of prefix and suffix, where the word cannot exist without one of the affixes. Example: nightfall (night + fall).
  • Juxtaposition: Union of two or more words without phonetic alteration. Example: hummingbird, pastime.
  • Agglutination: Union of words with phonetic loss. Example: firewater (fire + water), longlegs (long + legs).
  • Hybridism: Words formed by combining morphemes from different languages. Examples: automobile (auto [Greek] + mobile [Latin]), sociology (socio [Latin] + logy [Greek]).
  • Onomatopoeia: Words formed from the imitation of sounds or noises. Examples: tick-tock (clock), buzz (noise), meow (cat).

Based on the presence or absence of these morphic elements, we classify words into three main groups:

  • Primitive: Do not originate from another word in the language; do not have significant prefixes or suffixes. Examples: sun, moon, sea, sky.
  • Derived: Have origin in a single pre-existing word. Examples: sunny (from sun), marine (from sea), celestial (from sky).
  • Compound: Formed by the union of two or more words or roots. Examples: umbrella, sunflower, pastime.

References

  • CÂMARA JÚNIOR, Joaquim Mattoso. Structure of the Portuguese Language. Petrópolis: Vozes, 1995.
  • CEGALLA, Domingos Paschoal. New Grammar of the Portuguese Language. 46th ed. São Paulo: Editora Nacional, 2005.
  • Gonçalves, Jonas Rodrigo. Grammar and Text Interpretation: Theory and Exercises. Brasília: Avançar, 2019.
  • MONTEIRO, José Lemos. Portuguese Morphology. 4th Ed. Campinas: Pontes, 2002.