Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu uso o site do hospital para marcar a consulta. - I use the hospital website to schedule the appointment.

Portuguese is a “null subject” language: the verb ending (-o in uso) already shows that the subject is “I”, so the pronoun is often omitted:

Eu uso o site do hospital… = Uso o site do hospital…

Including Eu:

adds emphasis (e.g. contrasting with someone else: Eu uso o site, a minha mãe telefona.)
can sound a bit more explicit or formal in writing.

In a neutral, everyday sentence, Uso o site do hospital para marcar a consulta is perfectly natural in European Portuguese.

How is uso formed, and what are the other forms of usar in the present tense?

Uso is the 1st person singular, present indicative of usar (to use).

Present tense of usar:

eu uso – I use
tu usas – you use (informal singular, EP)
ele / ela usa – he / she uses
nós usamos – we use
vocês usam – you (plural) use
eles / elas usam – they use

Pattern: the stem us- + endings -o, -as, -a, -amos, -am (regular -ar verb).

Why is it o site do hospital and not something like o hospital site like in English?

Portuguese doesn’t build noun–noun compounds the same way English does. Instead, it usually uses “noun + de + noun”:

o site do hospital = literally the site of the hospital
o site da escola = the school’s site / the school website
a porta do carro = the door of the car / the car door

So to say “the hospital’s website”, Portuguese naturally says o site do hospital rather than o hospital site.

What exactly is do in do hospital?

Do is a contraction of the preposition de + the masculine singular definite article o:

de + o = do

So:

site do hospital = site de + o hospital = the site of the hospital

Similarly:

de + a = da → site da escola (the school’s website)
de + os = dos → site dos hospitais (the hospitals’ website)
de + as = das → site das universidades (the universities’ website)

Why is the English word site used instead of something like sítio in Portuguese?

In European Portuguese:

site (no accent) is the common word for website.
sítio (with accent) normally means place, spot, location, not “website”.

So:

uso o site do hospital = I use the hospital’s website
um sítio bonito = a beautiful place

If you say sítio do hospital, it would mean the hospital’s place/grounds, not its website.

Why is it para marcar and not just marcar a consulta after uso?

Para + infinitive is a very common way to express purpose in Portuguese:

Uso o site… para marcar a consulta.
→ I use the site to book the appointment. (purpose)

Here:

para = for / in order to
marcar = to book / to schedule

If you say only Uso o site do hospital marcar a consulta, it sounds wrong. You need para to link the action (uso) to its purpose (marcar a consulta).

What does marcar mean here, and are there other verbs I could use for “book an appointment”?

Here marcar means to book / to schedule / to make (an appointment).

In European Portuguese, common options are:

marcar a consulta – to book the appointment (very natural, very common)
marcar uma consulta – to book an appointment (not a specific one yet)
fazer uma marcação – to make a booking (more formal/administrative)
agendar uma consulta – to schedule an appointment (used, but marcar is more everyday)

So marcar a consulta is the most typical, everyday way to say book the appointment in Portugal.

Why is it a consulta and not uma consulta or just consulta?

The choice of article changes the nuance slightly:

marcar a consulta
- a = the → a specific appointment that both speaker and listener have in mind
- e.g. the appointment your doctor told you to book, or one already referred to.
marcar uma consulta
- uma = an → some appointment, not yet specific
- more like “book an appointment (with a doctor)”.
marcar consulta (no article)
- also possible in European Portuguese, especially in more telegraphic or general statements (e.g. Preciso de marcar consulta.)
- feels a bit more generic, like “I need to book an appointment (in general).”

In your sentence, a consulta suggests you’re referring to a particular planned appointment.

What exactly does consulta mean here? Is it only for doctors?

In this context, consulta is a medical appointment / consultation.

Typical uses in European Portuguese:

consulta médica – doctor’s appointment / medical consultation
consulta de rotina – routine check-up
consulta de psicologia – psychology appointment
consulta no dentista – dentist appointment

Outside medicine, consulta can also mean consultation in other professional contexts (lawyer, accountant, etc.), but for a doctor’s appointment, consulta is standard.

For general meetings (non-medical), you’d normally use reunião or encontro, not consulta.

Can I change the word order, like Eu uso o site para marcar a consulta do hospital?

You can change the order, but the meaning can shift slightly.

Eu uso o site do hospital para marcar a consulta.
- Clear: it’s the hospital’s website, and you’re booking the appointment (with them).
Eu uso o site para marcar a consulta do hospital.
- Grammatically fine, but now do hospital seems to modify consulta more directly:
  “I use the site to book the hospital appointment.”
- It no longer clearly says it’s the hospital’s site; maybe it’s some other site used to book a hospital appointment.

The original phrasing o site do hospital is the most natural and unambiguous if you want to say the hospital’s website.

How would I say “I’m using the hospital’s site to book the appointment (right now)” in Portuguese? Is the same present tense used?

Yes, Portuguese often uses the simple present for both general and current actions, but if you want to emphasise “right now”, you can use the present progressive:

Estou a usar o site do hospital para marcar a consulta. (European Portuguese)
- literally: I am to use → used as “I am using”

For general/habitual use:

Eu uso o site do hospital para marcar a consulta.
- I use the hospital’s website to book the appointment(s). (habit/routine)

So:

uso → can be general or current, depending on context.
estou a usar → clearly focuses on what you’re doing right now in European Portuguese.

How is this sentence pronounced in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (Lisbon-like):

Eu – [eu], like English eh-oo combined, quite quick
uso – [Ú-zu], stress on u, s like English z
o – [u], like “oo” in book but very short
site – [SÁI-tə], similar to English site, but final e is a very short, almost muted ə
do – [du]
hospital – [uʃ-pi-TAL]
- initial h is silent
- s before p sounds like English sh: ʃ → “ush-pi-TAL”
- stress on the last syllable -tal
para – [PA-rə], often very reduced in fast speech, almost prə
marcar – [mar-KAR] (final r lightly pronounced or almost dropped in casual European speech)
a – [ɐ] (very short “uh”)
consulta – [kõ-SUL-tə], with õ nasal (like on in French bon) and stress on SUL

Spoken naturally, many sounds reduce and link, but this gives you a workable guide.