Tão vs Tanto

👉 Tão

“Tão” is an adverb that means “so” or “such.” It is an invariable word used before adjectives or other adverbs.

• 📖 “Tão” + adjective: “O livro é tão interessante!” (The book is so interesting!)
• “Tão” + adverb: “Eles portaram-se tão bem” (They behaved so well)

👉 Tão vs Tanto

The adverb “tanto” (so much) has a similar meaning, but must be used after verbs.

For example: “Ela fala tanto!” (She speaks so much!). Like all adverbs, this is an invariable word.

👉 Tanto/a vs Tantos/as

“Tanto” (so much) can also be variable if it refers to a noun. In that case, it is an indefinite pronoun. “Tanto” is used for masculine uncountable nouns and “tanta” must be used for feminine uncountable nouns.

• Masculine noun ➡ Ela tem tanto talento! (She has so much talent!)
• Feminine noun ➡ Vimos tanta neve! (We saw so much snow!)

If the noun is countable we use “tantos” (so many) for masculine nouns and “tantas” (so many) for feminine nouns.

• Masculine noun ➡ Ele tem tantos cães! (He has so many dogs!)
• Feminine noun ➡ Vimos tantas flores! (We saw so many flowers!)