Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): A médica recomenda um spray para aliviar o nariz entupido. - The doctor recommends a spray to relieve the blocked nose.

In European Portuguese, people commonly use the feminine form when referring to a female professional; using the masculine o médico for a woman can sound old‑fashioned or incorrect.

What person and tense is recomenda, and what does that imply?

Recomenda is:

Person: 3rd person singular (he/she/it)
Tense: present indicative

So A médica recomenda… literally means The doctor recommends… in general, or is recommending (now), depending on context.

Portuguese uses the simple present for both:

A médica recomenda este spray. – The doctor recommends this spray (in general).
A médica recomenda um spray hoje. – The doctor is recommending a spray today.

Could I say A médica recomenda que eu use um spray…? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are correct but slightly different:

A médica recomenda um spray para aliviar o nariz entupido.
Focus is on the thing she recommends: a spray.
A médica recomenda que eu use um spray para aliviar o nariz entupido.
- You add a subordinate clause (que eu use…)
- use is in the subjunctive (present subjunctive of usar)
- Focus is on the action she recommends you take: using a spray.

Both are natural in European Portuguese; (2) is more explicit about who is supposed to do what.

Why is it um spray and not o spray?

Um is an indefinite article (“a / one”), while o is definite (“the”).

A médica recomenda um spray… – a spray (not specified; any suitable spray)
A médica recomenda o spray… – the spray (a specific one already known from context)

Here the idea is “a spray” as a type of medicine, not a particular already‑identified spray, so um spray is more natural.

Is spray masculine or feminine in Portuguese? How would I make it plural?

In European Portuguese, spray is treated as masculine:

um spray
o spray
este spray

The plural is formed by adding -s:

dois sprays
alguns sprays nasais

So you would say:

A médica recomenda dois sprays. – The doctor recommends two sprays.

How would spray typically be pronounced in European Portuguese?

In European Portuguese, spray is usually pronounced close to the English word, something like:

[ˈspɾɐj] or [ˈspɾej]

Details:

s like English “s” in see
pr is a Portuguese p
- tapped r (a quick r sound)
Final -ay is like -ei in lei (law) or sei (I know).

You don’t normally insert a vowel before s here; people say something very close to English spray.

Why is it para aliviar and not por aliviar?

Para is the standard preposition to express purpose / goal:

um spray para aliviar o nariz entupido
= a spray in order to relieve the blocked nose

Por is more about cause, means, or duration, not purpose:

Fiz isso por ti. – I did that because of you / for you.
Caminhei por duas horas. – I walked for two hours.

So with an infinitive that expresses purpose, you almost always want para + infinitive:

para aliviar, para ajudar, para dormir melhor, etc.

Could aliviar be reflexive here (like aliviar-se)?

Not in this sentence. Here:

aliviar is a transitive verb:
aliviar o nariz entupido = to relieve the blocked nose

Aliviar-se exists but is used differently, usually meaning “to be relieved” (emotionally) or to relieve oneself (context‑dependent):

Fiquei aliviado. – I felt relieved.
Ele aliviou-se. – He relieved himself. (can be a euphemism for going to the toilet)

So for relieving a symptom/body part, you use aliviar + object, not reflexive.

Why do we say o nariz entupido and not meu nariz entupido?

In Portuguese, with body parts, you usually use a definite article (o, a) instead of a possessive (meu, tua, etc.) when it’s clear whose body the part belongs to:

Tenho o nariz entupido. – literally I have the nose blocked → My nose is blocked.
Dói-me a cabeça. – My head hurts.

Context (the subject, etc.) tells you whose body part it is. Using meu nariz entupido is possible but often sounds more emphatic or contrastive, e.g.:

Só o meu nariz está entupido, não o teu. – Only my nose is blocked, not yours.

Why is it nariz entupido and not entupido nariz?

In Portuguese, most adjectives come after the noun:

nariz entupido – blocked nose
café quente – hot coffee
livro interessante – interesting book

Putting the adjective before the noun (entupido nariz) is generally ungrammatical here and would sound wrong.

Also, entupido is the past participle of entupir (“to block, clog”), used adjectivally. Past‑participle adjectives almost always come after the noun in this type of phrase.

Are there other common ways in European Portuguese to say nariz entupido?

Yes, in Portugal you may also hear:

nariz tapado – very common, same meaning
nariz congestionado – more technical/medical
nariz obstruído – more formal/medical

But in everyday speech, nariz entupido and nariz tapado are the most natural.

Is the word order fixed, or could I say A médica recomenda, para aliviar o nariz entupido, um spray?

You can move the purpose phrase, but the neutral, most natural order is the original:

A médica recomenda um spray para aliviar o nariz entupido.

Other orders are grammatically possible but sound more formal or marked:

A médica recomenda, para aliviar o nariz entupido, um spray.
(Possible, but slightly heavy/“written”.)

Putting um spray right after recomenda keeps the verb and its direct object together, which is the default and most fluid structure in everyday Portuguese.