Breakdown of O doutor recomendou um remédio caro, mas confiável.
mas
but
caro
expensive
confiável
reliable
o doutor
the doctor
recomendar
to recommend
o remédio
the medicine
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Questions & Answers about O doutor recomendou um remédio caro, mas confiável.
What does O doutor mean, and is it interchangeable with o médico?
O doutor literally translates to "the doctor" in English. While médico is the standard word for a medical doctor, doutor is often used as a respectful title in Brazil—even for professionals without an actual doctoral degree. Thus, in everyday usage, addressing a doctor as doutor is very common.
What tense is the verb recomendou, and what does it imply?
Recomendou is the simple past (preterite) form of the verb recomendar, meaning "recommended." Its use indicates that the doctor made this recommendation in the past.
Why is the indefinite article um used before remédio?
In Portuguese, um functions much like the English "a" or "an," signaling that the reference is to a nonspecific instance. Here, um remédio means "an (unspecified) medicine," implying that the doctor recommended one example of expensive but reliable medicine rather than a particular, well-known product.
How do the adjectives caro and confiável agree with the noun remédio in this sentence?
Portuguese adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Since remédio is a masculine singular noun, both caro (expensive) and confiável (reliable) are used in their masculine singular forms. Additionally, in Portuguese, adjectives typically follow the noun they modify, which is why they come after remédio.
What role does the word mas play in this sentence?
Mas translates to "but" in English and is used to introduce a contrast. In this sentence, it contrasts the negative aspect of the medicine (being expensive) with the positive quality (being reliable). The structure tells us that despite its cost, the medicine's reliability makes it a recommended choice.
Why is there a comma before mas confiável?
The comma is used to separate two contrasting parts of the sentence. It creates a pause that emphasizes the shift from stating that the medicine is expensive to highlighting its reliability. This punctuation is common in Portuguese when linking contrasting clauses with mas.
Is the adjective placement in this sentence typical for Portuguese compared to English?
Yes, the adjective placement is typical in Portuguese. Unlike English, where adjectives usually come before the noun (e.g., "an expensive medicine"), Portuguese often places descriptive adjectives after the noun (e.g., remédio caro). This sentence perfectly illustrates that ordering, while still conveying the same meaning as its English counterpart.