Breakdown of Já perguntei ao médico.
o médico
the doctor (m)
a
to / at (direction)
já
already
perguntar
to ask
Questions & Answers about Já perguntei ao médico.
Where is the word for "I" in this sentence?
In Portuguese, the word eu (I) is often left out because the verb itself tells you who is doing the action. The infinitive verb is perguntar (to ask). Dropping the -ar and adding -ei is the regular rule for "I" in the simple past tense, making perguntei mean "I asked" all on its own.
Why is it ao médico instead of just o médico?
In English, we "ask the doctor," but in Portuguese, you always "ask to the doctor." The verb perguntar requires the preposition a (to). When the preposition a sits next to the masculine word o (the), they merge together into the single word ao.
Can I put já at the end of the sentence, like we do in English ("I asked the doctor already")?
It is much more natural in Portuguese to put já (already) immediately before the verb it is talking about. While conversational Portuguese can be flexible, Já perguntei is the standard and most common word order.
How would this sentence change if I were asking a female doctor?
The word for a female doctor is médica. Since it is a feminine noun, it uses the article a (the) instead of o. The preposition a (to) combines with the article a (the) to form à (with a grave accent). So, the sentence would become: Já perguntei à médica.
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