Questions & Answers about O termómetro marcou trinta e oito, por isso a médica disse que eu estava febril.
Why do termómetro and médica have o and a in front of them?
Why is it a médica and not o médico?
What does marcou mean here? Why use the verb marcar with a thermometer?
In this context, marcou means showed, read, or registered.
Portuguese often uses marcar for what an instrument indicates:
- O relógio marcou meio-dia = The clock showed noon.
- O termómetro marcou trinta e oito = The thermometer showed thirty-eight.
So even though marcar often means to mark, to note, or to schedule, with devices it can mean to indicate a value.
What tense is marcou and why is it used?
Marcou is the pretérito perfeito (simple past) of marcar.
It is used because the thermometer reading is seen as a completed event:
- O termómetro marcou trinta e oito = The thermometer showed thirty-eight.
This is a specific past fact. The same applies to disse:
- a médica disse = the doctor said
Both are completed actions in the past.
Why is it trinta e oito? Why is there an e in the number?
In Portuguese, numbers between the tens and the units usually use e:
- trinta e oito = 38
- quarenta e dois = 42
- vinte e sete = 27
So the pattern is:
- tens + e + units
This is very normal and very important to remember in Portuguese number formation.
Why doesn’t the sentence say trinta e oito graus?
It could. Portuguese often leaves out graus when the context is clear.
So all of these are possible:
- O termómetro marcou trinta e oito.
- O termómetro marcou trinta e oito graus.
- Estava com trinta e oito de febre. (common in everyday speech)
If everyone knows you are talking about body temperature, trinta e oito by itself is enough.
What does por isso mean exactly?
Por isso means therefore, so, or for that reason.
It links the first idea to the result:
- the thermometer showed 38
- por isso
- the doctor said I was feverish
It is a very common connector in Portuguese.
Other similar connectors are:
- por isso = so / therefore
- por causa disso = because of that
- então = so / then, depending on context
Why is it disse que eu estava and not disse que eu estou?
Because the whole situation is being described in the past.
- disse = said
- estava = was
After a past reporting verb like disse, Portuguese often shifts the following verb into a past form too, especially when referring to the same past moment.
So:
If you said disse que eu estou febril, it would usually suggest the fever is still true now, at the time of speaking. That is possible in some contexts, but it is not the most natural reading here.
Why is it estava and not era?
Because estar is used for temporary states or conditions, and a fever is temporary.
- estar febril = to be feverish
- estar doente = to be ill
- estar cansado = to be tired
By contrast, ser is used more for identity, permanent characteristics, or defining qualities.
So:
- eu estava febril = I was feverish / I had a feverish condition
Using era febril here would sound wrong in normal usage.
Why is eu included? Could it be omitted?
Yes, it could be omitted.
Portuguese often drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear:
Both can work.
However, eu may be included:
- for emphasis
- for clarity
- to avoid ambiguity
Since Portuguese is a pro-drop language, the pronoun is optional in many cases, but not always unnecessary.
What does febril mean? Is it the same as com febre?
Febril means feverish.
It is very close in meaning to:
In everyday speech, many people would more naturally say:
But estava febril is also perfectly correct and sounds a bit more medical or formal.
So the difference is mostly one of register:
- com febre = very common, everyday
- febril = slightly more clinical or formal
Is the sentence natural in European Portuguese?
Yes, it is natural and correct in European Portuguese.
A European Portuguese speaker might also say things like:
- O termómetro marcou trinta e oito graus, por isso a médica disse que eu estava com febre.
- O termómetro marcava trinta e oito... if describing the situation more like a scene in progress
- A médica disse que eu tinha febre.
But your sentence is idiomatic and fully acceptable.
What is the difference between estava febril, estava com febre, and tinha febre?
All three are possible, but they sound slightly different.
estava febril = I was feverish
Slightly more formal or medical.estava com febre = I was with a fever / I had a fever
Very common in everyday speech.tinha febre = I had a fever
Also very common and simple.
So if you want the most conversational option, estava com febre or tinha febre may sound more everyday than estava febril.
How is termómetro pronounced in Portugal, and what do the accents tell me?
The accent marks show the stressed syllable.
- termómetro → stress on mó
- médica → stress on mé
- febril → stress on the last syllable, bril
In European Portuguese, unstressed vowels are often reduced, so the pronunciation may sound less open than an English speaker expects. The accents are especially useful because they tell you where the stress goes, which is essential for sounding natural.
A rough guide:
- termómetro ≈ ter-MÓ-me-tru
- médica ≈ MÉ-di-ka
- febril ≈ fe-BRIL
These are only approximations, but the main thing to remember is the stress.
Why do we have marcou and disse in the simple past, but estava in the imperfect?
This is a very common pattern in Portuguese.
- marcou and disse are completed past events.
- estava describes a state or condition in the past.
So the sentence structure is:
- completed event: the thermometer showed 38
- completed event: the doctor said
- background state: I was feverish
The imperfect estava is often used for conditions, situations, and background descriptions in the past. That is why it fits well here.
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