Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O tratamento é longo, mas ajuda a melhorar a saúde. - The treatment is long, but it helps to improve health.

O tratamento = the treatment.
Portuguese uses definite articles much more than English, including with general concepts (e.g. A saúde é importante = Health is important).

You can sometimes drop the article in titles or very informal speech, but in a normal sentence like this, O tratamento is the natural, standard form.

Why is it o tratamento but a saúde? How do I know the gender?

Both tratamento and saúde are nouns, and every Portuguese noun is either masculine or feminine:

o tratamento – masculine
a saúde – feminine

Gender is mostly arbitrary; you have to learn it with each noun. Some general hints:

Many nouns ending in -o are masculine (o tratamento, o livro, o carro).
Many nouns ending in -ade / -ude are feminine (a cidade, a verdade, a saúde).

But there are many exceptions, so always learn the article together with the noun.

Why is it é longo and not está longo?

Portuguese uses ser and estar where English uses to be, but they are not interchangeable:

ser (here: é) describes more permanent or inherent characteristics.
estar describes temporary states or conditions.

The length of a treatment is seen as a characteristic of that treatment (it is designed or expected to be long), so O tratamento é longo is natural.

O tratamento está longo would sound odd; it might suggest something like “it is turning out longer than expected”, and even then speakers would normally find another way to say that.

What does mas mean here, and how is it different from mais?

In this sentence:

mas = but (a conjunction that contrasts two ideas).
- O tratamento é longo, mas ajuda… = The treatment is long, but it helps…

Mais (with an i) means more:

Quero mais água. = I want more water.

Pronunciation in European Portuguese:

mas – roughly like “mush” but with an s sound at the end.
mais – roughly like “mice” in English.

They are completely different words in meaning and spelling.

What is the function of a in ajuda a melhorar? Can I say ajuda melhorar?

Here, a is a preposition used with the infinitive melhorar:

ajudar a + infinitive = to help to + verb

So:

ajuda a melhorar ≈ helps to improve / helps improve

In European Portuguese, ajudar a + infinitive is the standard pattern.
Saying ajuda melhorar without the a is not standard in European Portuguese (though in Brazilian Portuguese you may sometimes see or hear it).

Are the two a’s in ajuda a melhorar a saúde the same word?

No, they have different grammatical roles:

First a (ajuda a melhorar) = preposition a (to), linked to the verb ajudar:
- ajudar a + infinitive = help to do something.
Second a (a saúde) = feminine singular definite article a (the), used with the noun saúde:
- a saúde = the health.

So:

ajuda a melhorar a saúde = it helps to improve (the) health.
First a = to, second a = the.

Why do we say a saúde? Could I say melhorar saúde without the article?

In Portuguese, abstract and general nouns usually take the definite article:

a saúde, a vida, a educação, o trabalho

So:

ajuda a melhorar a saúde is the natural phrasing.

Melhorar saúde without the article sounds incomplete or telegraphic, like a note or a headline. In normal speech and writing, you generally need a saúde here.

In English I’d say “improve your health.” Why is there no sua (your) in a saúde?

Portuguese often omits possessive pronouns when the owner is obvious from context. If we’re already talking about your treatment, it’s understood that the health in question is yours:

O tratamento é longo, mas ajuda a melhorar a saúde.
→ contextually: …helps to improve your health.

You can say a sua saúde:

…mas ajuda a melhorar a sua saúde.

That’s also correct, just a bit more explicit. The version without sua is very natural and common.

Who is the subject of ajuda? Why isn’t there ele or ela?

The subject of ajuda is still O tratamento:

O tratamento é longo, mas (o tratamento) ajuda a melhorar a saúde.

Portuguese is a “null subject” language: subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, ela, nós, vocês, eles, elas) are often dropped because the verb ending and the context make the subject clear.

You could say:

O tratamento é longo, mas ele ajuda a melhorar a saúde.

This is grammatically correct, but ele is unnecessary and not usually used here.

Could I say O tratamento é longo, mas melhora a saúde instead of mas ajuda a melhorar a saúde?

Yes, you can, but there is a nuance:

…mas melhora a saúde.
= …but it improves health.
This presents the treatment as directly bringing about improvement.
…mas ajuda a melhorar a saúde.
= …but it helps to improve health.
This sounds a bit softer and more indirect, as if the treatment contributes to improvement (perhaps alongside other factors).

Both are correct; the original version is slightly more cautious/modest in its claim.

How do you pronounce tratamento, ajuda, and saúde in European Portuguese?

Approximate pronunciations (not strict IPA):

tratamento – truh-tuh-MEN-too
- Stress on -men-.
- Final -o sounds more like -oo.
ajuda – uh-ZHOO-duh
- j = zh like in English “measure”.
- Stress on -ju- (ZHOO).
saúde – sah-OO-d(ɨ)
- Three syllables: sa-ú-de.
- Stress on -ú-.
- The ú is clear and strong; the final e is very reduced in European Portuguese, almost like a soft, quick sound.

Listening to native audio for these words will help you match the rhythm and vowel quality.

Is the comma before mas always required?

When mas links two independent clauses (each with its own verb), you normally use a comma:

O tratamento é longo, mas ajuda a melhorar a saúde.
- Clause 1: O tratamento é longo.
- Clause 2: (O tratamento) ajuda a melhorar a saúde.

So in sentences like this, yes, the comma before mas is standard and expected.