Question 1

How do we form the future tense in descobrirá?

Accepted Answer

For regular verbs like descobrir, you form the future tense by taking the whole infinitive (the dictionary form) and adding the future endings. For the ele/ela/você form, which matches O cientista, you add -á. So, descobrir + á becomes descobrirá. Notice the accent mark, which tells you to stress that final syllable!

Question 2

Why is it um planeta instead of uma planeta since the word ends in an A?

Accepted Answer

Even though planeta ends in -a, it is actually a masculine noun. Many Portuguese words of Greek origin ending in -ta or -ma (like o planeta, o idioma, o problema) are masculine. Therefore, it takes the masculine article um and the masculine adjective novo.

Question 3

Since we say O cientista, does cientista follow the same rule as planeta?

Accepted Answer

Not quite! Words ending in -ista usually refer to professions or traits and are gender-neutral. They do not change their spelling whether you are talking about a man or a woman. You use the article before it to show the gender: o cientista for a male scientist, and a cientista for a female scientist.

Question 4

Could I say um novo planeta instead of um planeta novo?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but it slightly changes the focus. In Portuguese, adjectives usually go after the noun to describe a literal, objective trait. Putting novo before the noun makes it more subjective, often meaning another one or a new-to-me one. Here, um planeta novo emphasizes that the planet itself is a brand new scientific discovery.

O cientista descobrirá um planeta novo.

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