Lesson 14 · A1 · ~22 min
The little words o and a
Lock o/a with everyday Portuguese nouns — the little words you hear all day.
Singular pair
o = masculine singular. a = feminine singular. Learn them stuck to the noun.
- o carro
- a casa
- o livro
- a mesa
- o café
Trap: guessing from English
English “the” hides gender. Portuguese doesn’t. Don’t invent — check and remember.
- a moto (not o moto)
- o problema (not a problema)
- a água
Plural snapshot
o → os, a → as. Same gender, more than one.
- os carros
- as casas
- os livros
- as mesas
Key words
o — the (masc. sg.)
O carro é novo.
The car is new.
a — the (fem. sg.)
A casa é grande.
The house is big.
os — the (masc. pl.)
Os livros estão aqui.
The books are here.
as — the (fem. pl.)
As mesas são pequenas.
The tables are small.
o carro — car
O carro é azul.
The car is blue.
o livro — book
O livro é interessante.
The book is interesting.
a moto — motorbike
A moto é rápida.
The motorbike is fast.
a bola — ball
A bola é vermelha.
The ball is red.
o gato — cat (male)
O gato dorme.
The cat sleeps.
a mesa — table
A mesa está na cozinha.
The table is in the kitchen.
Articles in a short café chat
Listening focus
“A bola está no carro.”
Where is the ball?
Quick check · 21 questions
Mostly choose-the-right-option drills — tap an answer to check yourself.
Correct article for “casa”:
Plural of “o carro”:
Add the article for book.
_____ livro é novo.
Order: article + noun + place.
Tap chunks in order…Match article pairs.
- o
- a
- os
Best chunk to memorise:
Masculine singular article:
Feminine singular article:
“Os” is…
“As” is…
“_____ livro” (book)
“_____ mesa” (table)
“_____ gato” typically…
True or false: memorise article + noun together (a casa, o carro).
“A moto” takes…
“A bola” takes…
Plural of “a mesa”:
“O livro está na mesa.” — “na” = em + a. The book is…
Don’t guess gender from English. Learn…
“_____ carros”
Best memory unit:
Say it
Say two things with correct articles: one o… and one a…
Mini writing
Write 2–3 sentences using o/a/os/as with everyday nouns.
Scaffold: O … está… A … é…