"A minha fazenda é maior."

Translation: My farm is larger.

[kadara_gata]

cool story bro

[microgriff]

why put the A at the beginning ? is it fine to just skip it ?

[Paulenrique]

yes, omitting the definite article is also correct in this sentence...

[CRaubenheimer]

so is there no difference at all when you include or omit it?

[Paulenrique]

Yes, no difference when you have "possessive(minha) + noun(fazenda). When you don't have the noun, the article is mandatory.

[Kerriebee23]

So you would say "A minha e maior" rather than "Minha e maior"?

[Paulenrique]

Exactly!

[anachron]

Can this also mean "My farm is large", or must you use "grande" in place of "maior" to say that?

[surfx2015]

"Minha fazenda é maior" - comparativo, ex: "Minha fazenda é maior do que a sua"

"Minha fazenda é grande" - não há comparação com outras fazendas.

[Paulenrique]

maior is comparative, but irregular. yes, large = grande

[GiladTi]

but shouldn't comparative compare two objects? it says: "my farm is larger" than what?

[ThanKwee]

In the sentence "My farm is larger" the other object need not be mentioned. It is assumed that "my farm" is larger than "your farm". Or perhaps my farm is larger than your ranch. Whatever. In any case, my farm is larger.

[y0rkshire]

Why is "bigger" rejected?

[blaidd_drwg31]

it is accepted in 2020

[MINT-JAM]

can maior mean older as well?

[surfx2015]

No, older = "mais velho", larger = "maior"

[GiladTi]

'mais' means more?

[ThanKwee]

Yes "mais" means "more" as in "mais arroz" = "more rice". But "mais velho" cannot be translated as "more old" because we don't say it that way in English. We say "older". And yet "larger/bigger" cannot be translated as "mais grande" because they don't say it that way in Portuguese. They say "maior" for "bigger/larger".

At least that's my understanding thus far. I could be wrong.

[surfx2015]

i agree

[AlkaHede]

Yes

[ApolloNexus]

why does it have the "A" at the beginning?

[Paulenrique]

It is optional when you have "possessive + noun".

[CoyoteV]

There is something I don't understand:
Are these all the same?!?
grande > mais grande > o/a mais grande
grande > maior > o/a mais grande
grande > mais grande > (o/a) maior

if yes… how do I know when “o bolo maior“ means
„the bigger or the biggest cake“?

[Paulenrique]

• grande = big
• maior = bigger
• o maior = the bigger/biggest (you know it by the context)