Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): A médica perguntou pelos sintomas e passou uma receita médica. - The doctor female asked about the symptoms and issued a prescription.

European Portuguese uses definite articles more broadly than English. A médica means "the (specific) doctor," and it also marks feminine gender: médica = female doctor. Without an article (Médica perguntou...) sounds like a headline. For an unspecified doctor, use uma médica. The masculine is o médico (male doctor); Portuguese often uses the masculine for generic references, though inclusive forms like o/a médico/a also occur in writing.

Can I say a doutora instead of a médica?

Yes. In Portugal it’s common to refer to doctors by the title o/a doutor(a) in address or casual reference: A doutora perguntou... It’s a title; médica is the profession. Both are fine; médica is neutral and precise.

Why is it perguntou pelos sintomas and not perguntou os sintomas?

Because perguntar takes a preposition for the topic. You ask someone (perguntar a [alguém]) and ask about something (perguntar por/sobre [algo]). So you say perguntar pelos/sobre os sintomas, not a bare direct object like perguntar os sintomas.

What exactly is pelos?

pelos is the contraction of por + os. It agrees with os sintomas (masc. pl.). Other forms are pelo (por + o), pela (por + a), pelas (por + as).

Could I use sobre or acerca de instead of por here? Is perguntar dos sintomas okay?

sobre works well: perguntar sobre os sintomas (a bit more formal/explicit).
acerca de is formal/old-fashioned: perguntar acerca dos sintomas.
Don’t use de alone here: perguntar dos sintomas is not idiomatic. Using por is very common in everyday speech.

Does perguntou pelos sintomas mean asked for the symptoms or asked about the symptoms?

Here it means "asked about the symptoms." With perguntar, por maps to "about." If you mean "ask for" (request), use pedir: O paciente pediu uma receita ("The patient asked for a prescription").

Where does the person asked go in the sentence?

Use a for the person: A médica perguntou ao paciente pelos sintomas. With pronouns in European Portuguese, use enclisis in affirmative main clauses: A médica perguntou-lhe pelos sintomas ("asked him/her about the symptoms").

What tense are perguntou and passou, and why that tense?

They’re 3rd person singular in the preterite (simple past): perguntou (from perguntar) and passou (from passar). The preterite narrates completed, sequential past actions—exactly what happens here.

Could I use the imperfect instead: perguntava... e passava...?

Yes, but it changes the meaning. perguntava... e passava... describes habitual or ongoing past actions ("she used to ask... and used to write..."), not a single visit.

What does passar uma receita mean? Isn’t passar “to pass”?

In healthcare, passar uma receita is an idiom meaning "to issue/write a prescription" (i.e., to prescribe). Synonyms: prescrever and receitar. Here passar does not mean physically handing something over; it’s the established medical usage.

Is dar uma receita acceptable?

People do say dar uma receita colloquially and it’s understood. In careful or professional contexts, prefer passar uma receita, prescrever, or receitar.

Does receita also mean “recipe”? Is receita médica redundant?

receita can mean either "recipe" or "prescription." Context disambiguates.
receita médica makes "prescription" explicit and avoids the cooking meaning.
In medical contexts you can drop médica and just say receita; outside that context, receita médica is clearer.

How would I include the patient as an indirect object throughout?

With full nouns: A médica perguntou ao paciente pelos sintomas e passou ao paciente uma receita.
With pronouns (EP): A médica perguntou-lhe pelos sintomas e passou-lhe uma receita. With negation or other proclisis triggers: A médica não lhe passou uma receita.

Where do clitic pronouns go in European vs Brazilian Portuguese?

EP: enclisis is the default in affirmative main clauses (passou-lhe), with proclisis after triggers like negation or certain conjunctions (não lhe passou, que lhe passou).
BP: proclisis is common even without triggers (lhe passou).

Any pronunciation tips (Portugal)?

médica: MEH-dee-kuh; stress on the first syllable; open “é”.
perguntou: per-goon-TOH; single r is a quick tap.
receita: heh-SAY-tuh; initial r is a guttural sound (like a soft French r).
sintomas: sin-TOH-mas; final -s often sounds like "sh" in EP.
pelos: PEH-loosh (approx.), with that same final -s sound.

Could I drop the article and say perguntar por sintomas?

You can, but it changes the nuance. perguntar pelos sintomas points to the specific patient’s symptoms in context. perguntar por sintomas sounds more generic—"ask whether there are symptoms"—and is less natural in this clinical sentence.

Why the -ou endings in perguntou and passou?

That -ou marks 3rd person singular preterite for regular -ar verbs:

perguntar → perguntou
passar → passou Present tense would be pergunta and passa.