Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Hoje tenho uma consulta online com a médica de família. - Today I have an online appointment with the family doctor.

In Portuguese (especially in European Portuguese), subject pronouns like eu (I), tu, ele/ela, etc. are often dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

tenho can only be eu (I have).
tens → you (tu) have
tem → he/she/you (formal) has

So Hoje tenho uma consulta… is completely natural and not incomplete. You can say Hoje eu tenho… to emphasize I, but in a neutral sentence it’s more common to omit eu.

Why is tenho (present tense: “I have”) used to talk about something in the future (a consultation later today)?

Portuguese often uses the present tense for scheduled future events, especially if they’re in the near future or are fixed in a timetable or appointment book.

Hoje tenho uma consulta. = I have an appointment today.
Amanhã temos exame. = We have an exam tomorrow.

You could also say:

Hoje vou ter uma consulta online… (I’m going to have…)
Hoje terei uma consulta online… (I will have…, more formal/literary)

But Hoje tenho… is the most natural, everyday way to talk about today’s appointment.

Why is it uma consulta and not a consulta? What’s the difference?

uma consulta = a consultation / an appointment (introducing it as a new, non‑specific event)
a consulta = the consultation (referring to a specific one already known in the context)

In your sentence, you’re introducing the fact that today you have an appointment. The listener doesn’t necessarily know which one yet, so uma is used.

If both people already know about this specific appointment, you could say:

Hoje tenho a consulta online com a médica de família.
(Today I have the online appointment with the family doctor.)

But without previous context, uma consulta is more natural.

What exactly does consulta mean here? Is it just “appointment”?

Consulta is specifically a medical consultation / appointment with a doctor (or other health professional). It’s not used for any random meeting.

consulta → doctor’s appointment
reunião → meeting (work meeting, group meeting, etc.)
encontro → meeting/get‑together/date (more social, or romantic context)

So uma consulta online means “a medical appointment done online (by video/phone)”.

Why is it consulta online and not consulta em linha or some other Portuguese word?

Portuguese (including European Portuguese) often borrows the English word online for internet‑based activities. It’s very common and sounds natural:

aula online = online class
reunião online = online meeting
consulta online = online consultation

The word online is invariable: it doesn’t change for gender or number:

uma consulta online / duas consultas online
um curso online / dois cursos online

Alternatives exist (e.g. consulta por vídeo, consulta à distância), but online is widely used and understood.

Why is it com a médica de família and not just com a médica?

Adding de família specifies which type of doctor it is: your family doctor / GP (general practitioner).

a médica = the doctor (female), no information about specialty
a médica de família = the family doctor (female), primary care doctor

So the full phrase a médica de família tells you both:

the profession (doctor, female: médica), and
the specialty/role (family doctor: de família).

Why is it médica de família and not médica da família? What’s the difference?

This is a subtle but important difference:

médica de família = family doctor (type of doctor / specialty, like GP)
médica da família = the doctor of the family (the doctor who belongs to, or is hired by, that specific family)

In healthcare systems like in Portugal, médico/médica de família is a standard term for your assigned primary‑care doctor. Using de here expresses type, not possession.

da família would sound more like “the doctor that belongs to that particular family” (for example, a private doctor who always treats one rich family).

Why is médica feminine here? Could it also be médico?

Yes. Portuguese marks grammatical gender for many professions:

médico = male doctor (or masculine form)
médica = female doctor (or feminine form)

If you know the doctor is a woman, you say a médica de família. If the doctor is a man, you say o médico de família.

In writing or when the gender is unknown, some people choose médico de família as a generic term, but when you’re talking about your doctor and you know she’s a woman, médica is the normal choice.

Why is it com a médica de família and not com a minha médica de família (“with my family doctor”)?

You can say com a minha médica de família, and that’s also correct.

Portuguese often uses the definite article + profession to refer to “my usual X” (doctor, dentist, etc.) when context makes it clear:

Vou ao médico. = I’m going to the doctor (usually: my doctor / the doctor I normally see).
Tenho consulta com a médica de família. = I have an appointment with the family doctor (usually your assigned GP).

Adding minha makes the “my” explicit, but it’s not strictly necessary if it’s obvious you’re talking about your own doctor from context.

Why is família after médica? In English we say “family doctor”, but here it looks like “doctor of family”.

In Portuguese, descriptive elements often come after the noun, connected with de:

médica de família = literally “doctor of family” → family doctor
professor de matemática = mathematics teacher
sapatos de desporto = sports shoes

So the pattern [profession] de [area/type] is normal, and it can correspond to English “X Y” (family doctor, math teacher, sports shoes).

Can hoje go somewhere else, like Tenho hoje uma consulta… or Tenho uma consulta hoje…?

Yes, hoje (today) is fairly flexible in position. All of these are grammatically correct, but differ slightly in emphasis and naturalness:

Hoje tenho uma consulta online…
(Very natural. Neutral emphasis on “today”.)
Tenho hoje uma consulta online…
(Possible, but more formal or marked rhythm; the hoje is highlighted.)
Tenho uma consulta online hoje…
(Also natural; sounds close to English word order.)

In everyday speech, Hoje tenho… and Tenho… hoje are the most common. Starting with Hoje is especially typical in European Portuguese.

How do you pronounce hoje and família in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation:

hoje → /ˈo.ʒɨ/
- h is silent.
- o like “o” in port (but shorter).
- j → /ʒ/, like the “s” in measure.
- final e is very reduced: like a quick, almost neutral vowel /ɨ/.
família → /fɐˈmi.li.ɐ/
- Stress is on mi: fa‑MI‑lia.
- The initial fa- has a very reduced a (/ɐ/).
- Final -lia is li‑a, but the last a is again reduced (/ɐ/).

So said naturally:
Hoje tenho uma consulta online com a médica de família.
→ the last syllables often sound quite reduced and connected in European Portuguese.