O professor tirou minha dúvida depois da aula.

In Brazilian Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article o / a before a noun when you are talking about a specific person or thing.

So:

• O professor = the professor / the teacher
• Professor by itself can sound more like direct address, as in Professor, posso fazer uma pergunta? = Teacher, may I ask a question?

In this sentence, o professor refers to a particular teacher, so the article sounds natural.

In Brazilian Portuguese, professor is the normal word for teacher in many contexts, not just a university professor.

So o professor here could mean:

• the teacher
• the professor

The exact English translation depends on context. In a school setting, English often prefers teacher, but Portuguese still uses professor.

That is one of the most important things to notice in this sentence.

Yes, tirar often means to take out, remove, or take away. But in Portuguese it is also used in the expression:

• tirar uma dúvida

This means:

• to clear up a doubt
• to answer a question
• to resolve someone’s uncertainty

So in this sentence, tirou minha dúvida does not mean the teacher physically took something. It means the teacher cleared up my doubt or answered my question.

This is a very common expression in Portuguese.

Because Portuguese uses dúvida in a broader way than English uses doubt.

In this kind of context, dúvida can mean:

• a doubt
• a question
• something you are unsure about

So if you ask a teacher for clarification, Portuguese often says:

• tirar uma dúvida

Even if in English you would naturally say ask a question or get a question answered.

By contrast:

• pergunta = the question itself
• dúvida = the uncertainty or problem you want clarified

So:

• O professor respondeu minha pergunta = The teacher answered my question.
• O professor tirou minha dúvida = The teacher cleared up my doubt / answered what I was unsure about.

Yes, it could be plural, but the singular is very natural here.

• minha dúvida = my doubt / my question / my uncertainty
• minhas dúvidas = my doubts / my questions

Portuguese often uses the singular when referring to one specific issue that needed clarification.

If you had several questions, you could say:

• O professor tirou minhas dúvidas depois da aula.

That means The teacher cleared up my questions after class.

Both are possible in Brazilian Portuguese.

• tirou minha dúvida
• tirou a minha dúvida

The version without the article is very common and sounds natural. The version with the article can sound a little more specific or emphatic, depending on context.

Portuguese is more flexible than English here. Before possessives like meu, minha, seu, nossa, Brazilian Portuguese may use the article or omit it.

So both are correct, but minha dúvida is perfectly normal.

Tirou is the preterite form of tirar for ele/ela/você.

Conjugation:

• eu tirei
• você/ele/ela tirou
• nós tiramos
• vocês/eles/elas tiraram

The preterite is used for a completed action in the past.

So O professor tirou minha dúvida means the teacher did clear it up; the action is finished.

Because the sentence presents the action as a simple completed event.

• tirou = cleared up / answered
• estava tirando = was clearing up
• tinha tirado = had cleared up

So:

• O professor tirou minha dúvida depois da aula.
  = The teacher cleared up my doubt after class.

If you said:

• O professor estava tirando minha dúvida...
  it would mean the action was in progress.

If you said:

• O professor tinha tirado minha dúvida...
  it would place the action before another past event.

The simple preterite is the natural choice here.

Literally, it means:

• after the class
• after class

Breakdown:

• depois = after
• da = contraction of de + a
• aula = class / lesson

So:

• depois de a aula becomes depois da aula

This contraction is required in normal Portuguese.

Because aula here has the definite article a.

• a aula = the class
• de + a = da

So:

• depois da aula = after the class / after class

Portuguese very often uses articles where English does not. English says after class, but Portuguese usually says depois da aula.

Yes.

• depois da aula = very common, neutral, everyday
• após a aula = also correct, a bit more formal or written

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, depois da aula is usually the more natural choice.

Yes. Portuguese allows some flexibility.

These are all possible:

• O professor tirou minha dúvida depois da aula.
• Depois da aula, o professor tirou minha dúvida.

Both mean the same thing. The difference is mainly emphasis:

• starting with O professor focuses first on who did it
• starting with Depois da aula focuses first on when it happened

Yes. The article o and the noun form professor indicate a male teacher.

For a female teacher, you would say:

• A professora tirou minha dúvida depois da aula.

So:

• o professor = the male teacher
• a professora = the female teacher

Dúvida is pronounced roughly like DOO-vi-da, with the stress on the first syllable.

The accent mark in dúvida shows that the stress falls on dú.

Without getting too technical, the accent helps you know where to stress the word, which is important in Portuguese pronunciation.

Literally, yes, that is how the words are built. But in real usage, it is understood idiomatically.

A native speaker will read:

• tirou minha dúvida

as:

• cleared up my doubt
• answered my question
• helped me understand

So you should learn it as a set expression, not word by word.

Yes, that is correct.

• tirou minha dúvida = more common and conversational
• esclareceu minha dúvida = also correct, slightly more formal

Both mean that the teacher clarified something for you.

So Portuguese offers different ways to express the same idea, but tirar uma dúvida is especially common in everyday speech.