A médica olhou o dentinho da bebê e disse que está melhor.

to be

Breakdown of A médica olhou o dentinho da bebê e disse que está melhor.

• e: and
• melhor: better
• que: that

Questions & Answers about A médica olhou o dentinho da bebê e disse que está melhor.

Why is it a médica and not o médico?

Because médica is the feminine form of médico. The sentence is talking about a female doctor, so both the article and the noun are feminine:

• o médico = the male doctor
• a médica = the female doctor

Portuguese usually marks this kind of gender directly in the noun.

Why is there an article in a médica?

In this sentence, a médica means the doctor, not just doctor. Portuguese uses definite articles very often, sometimes more often than English does.

So:

• A médica olhou... = The doctor looked...

It refers to a specific doctor already known in the situation.

What tense is olhou?

Olhou is the preterite form of olhar. It describes a completed action in the past.

• olhar = to look
• olhou = looked

So A médica olhou o dentinho... means the doctor performed that action and it is finished.

Why is it olhou o dentinho and not olhou para o dentinho?