Breakdown of Os cientistas observam as estrelas à noite.
à noite
at night
o cientista
the scientist
a estrela
the star
observar
to observe
Questions & Answers about Os cientistas observam as estrelas à noite.
Why does the word cientistas end in "-as" if the article Os is masculine?
Nouns ending in -ista (like cientista, artista, and rececionista) have the exact same spelling for both masculine and feminine forms. You indicate the gender of the person or group by changing the article before it. Os cientistas refers to a group of male scientists or a mixed-gender group, while as cientistas would refer to a group of exclusively female scientists.
Could I use de noite instead of à noite in this sentence?
Yes, you can! Both phrases are used to mean "at night." À noite (which is a contraction of the preposition a and the feminine article a) is standard for "in the evening" or "at night." De noite is also very common in Portugal and puts a slightly stronger emphasis on the physical state of it being nighttime or dark outside.
If the English translation was just "Scientists observe..." (without the word "The"), would the Portuguese sentence still start with Os cientistas?
Yes, it generally would. Unlike English, Portuguese usually requires you to use definite articles (o, a, os, as) when talking about nouns in a broad, universal sense. So whether you mean a specific group of scientists or scientists in general, you still say Os cientistas.
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