Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): A treinadora pede inscrição para cada nova atividade e regista a presença num caderno. - The trainer female asks for registration for each new activity and records the attendance in a notebook.

In Portuguese you normally use a definite article (o / a / os / as) before a person’s profession or role when you’re talking about a specific person:

A treinadora pede inscrição... – The coach asks for registration… (a particular coach)
O professor chegou. – The teacher arrived.

If you said just Treinadora pede inscrição..., it would sound incomplete or like a title in a note or heading, not like a normal sentence.

Why is it treinadora and not treinador?

Treinador is the masculine form (male coach), and treinadora is the feminine form (female coach).

Many profession/role nouns form the feminine by changing -or → -ora:

o treinador / a treinadora – (male / female coach)
o professor / a professora – (male / female teacher)
o cantor / a cantora – (male / female singer)

So A treinadora tells you explicitly that the coach is female.

Why is there no ela (she) at the beginning, like Ela pede...?

Portuguese is a “null-subject” language: subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele/ela, etc.) are often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

A treinadora pede inscrição... – The coach asks for registration…
You could say Ela pede inscrição..., but once you’ve identified a treinadora, repeating ela is usually unnecessary and sounds heavier.

Subject pronouns are normally used only:

to emphasize contrast (Ela pede, mas eles não pedem.)
or when the subject isn’t otherwise clear from context.

Why is the verb pede used and not pergunta? Aren’t both “ask”?

English “ask” splits into two different verbs in Portuguese:

pedir = to ask for something / to request
- Ela pede inscrição. – She asks for registration.
- Ele pediu ajuda. – He asked for help.
perguntar = to ask a question
- Ela perguntou a hora. – She asked the time.
- Vou perguntar ao professor. – I’ll ask the teacher.

In the sentence, the coach is requesting a registration, so pede (from pedir) is correct, not pergunta.

Why is it pede inscrição and not pede uma inscrição?

Both are possible, but pede inscrição (no article) is very natural here.

Portuguese often drops the article with abstract or institutional nouns when describing procedures or requirements:

pedir inscrição – ask for registration
pedir autorização – ask for authorization
pedir licença – ask for leave / permission

If you say pede uma inscrição, it sounds a bit more like “asks for a registration (one registration)”, and is less idiomatic in this bureaucratic/administrative sense. The version without the article focuses on the process or act of registration in general.

Why is it inscrição para cada nova atividade and not inscrição em cada nova atividade or por cada?

Here para shows purpose / destination:

inscrição para uma atividade – registration for an activity

Alternatives:

inscrição em cada atividade – literally “registration in each activity”; also possible, but it can sound a bit more like the registration belongs in that activity (e.g. on a form or system).
por cada is more like “per” and is used with quantities:
- paga 5 euros por cada atividade – she pays 5 euros per activity.
  It’s not normally used directly after inscrição in this sense.

So inscrição para cada nova atividade is the most natural way to say “registration for each new activity.”

Why is it cada nova atividade without any article between cada and the noun?

In Portuguese, cada (each/every) is used without an article:

cada pessoa – each person
cada aluno – each student
cada nova atividade – each new activity

You cannot say:

✗ cada a atividade
✗ cada a nova atividade

The normal pattern is:
cada + (adjective) + noun
→ cada nova atividade, cada pequena tarefa, etc.

Why is the adjective order nova atividade and not atividade nova?

Both nova atividade and atividade nova are possible, but the usual/default order is:

adjective before the noun when it expresses a more subjective, descriptive, classifying idea (common with words like novo, velho, bom, mau, grande, pequeno, etc.).

nova atividade – a new activity (neutral, default)
atividade nova – can sound a bit more emphatic or contrastive, like “an activity that is new (as opposed to others we know)”.

In everyday speech, nova atividade is what you’d normally say.

The verbs pede and regista are in the simple present. Does that mean it’s happening right now?

Not necessarily. In Portuguese, the simple present has several uses:

Habitual actions / routines (very common):
- A treinadora pede inscrição... e regista a presença...
  → The coach asks for registration and records attendance (whenever this situation occurs; it’s her normal procedure).
Actions happening right now:
- O comboio chega. – The train is arriving.
General truths:
- A água ferve a 100 graus. – Water boils at 100 degrees.

So in the given sentence, it’s best understood as a habitual or procedural action, not necessarily a one-time event happening at this moment.

Why is it regista and not registra?

This is a European Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese difference.

In European Portuguese:
- verb: registar (to register, to record)
- noun: registo
- 3rd person singular: ele/ela regista
In Brazilian Portuguese:
- verb: registrar
- noun: registro
- 3rd person singular: ele/ela registra

Because you specified Portuguese (Portugal), regista (from registar) is the correct form here.

Why is it a presença in the singular, not as presenças?

In Portuguese, a presença often behaves like English “attendance”, an uncountable concept in many contexts:

registar a presença – to record attendance
controlar a presença – to check attendance

You could say as presenças if you focus on the individual entries (each person’s presence as a separate item), but in institutional/administrative language, the singular a presença is more natural for “attendance” as a whole.

What exactly is num in num caderno?

num is a contraction of:

em + um → num

So:

em um caderno = num caderno – in a notebook

Similarly:

em + o → no (in the)
em + uma → numa (in a / in one – feminine)
em + a → na (in the – feminine)

In European Portuguese, num is very common; em um caderno is possible but sounds more formal or emphatic.

Why is it num caderno (“in a notebook”) and not no caderno (“in the notebook”)?

num caderno uses an indefinite article (um) → in a notebook:

Any notebook, not a specific, previously identified one. It just tells you the medium she uses to keep track.

If you said no caderno (em + o = in the notebook), it would refer to one particular notebook that both speaker and listener already know about:

Ela regista a presença no caderno da turma. – She records attendance in the class’s notebook.

In your sentence, num caderno keeps it general: she uses some notebook, not necessarily a special or unique one.

Why is the subject A treinadora only mentioned once, even though there are two verbs (pede and regista)?

Portuguese works like English here: when two verbs share the same subject in a coordinated structure, you usually:

State the subject once at the beginning
Then connect the verbs with e (and)

Examples:

A treinadora pede inscrição... e regista a presença...
O aluno abre o livro e começa a ler.

You could repeat the subject (A treinadora pede... e a treinadora regista...), but that’s only done for emphasis or contrast, and it sounds heavy in normal speech or writing.

Why is atividade written without c? I thought it was actividade in European Portuguese.

Before the orthographic reform, European Portuguese used:

actividade, acção, óptimo, etc.

The Orthographic Agreement (Acordo Ortográfico) simplified many spellings to align more with Brazilian usage. Now the standard spelling is:

atividade (PT + BR)

In practice:

In modern, standard European Portuguese, atividade is what you’ll see in textbooks, official documents, news, etc.
You might still see actividade in older texts or from people who reject the reform, but atividade is the current norm taught to learners.