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O paciente tem um problema, por isso vai à fisioterapia.

O paciente tem um problema, por isso vai à fisioterapia.
The patient has a problem, so he goes to physiotherapy.
From Lesson 179:Doing things again (voltar a)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about O paciente tem um problema, por isso vai à fisioterapia.

Why is it um problema and not uma problema since it ends in an 'a'?
Words ending in -ema or -ama that come from Greek are usually masculine in Portuguese. That is why it is um problema (a problem) and o problema (the problem), just like o sistema (the system) or o programa (the program).
What does por isso literally mean?
It literally translates to "for that" or "because of that". In English, we usually translate it as "so", "therefore", or "that is why". It is a very common way to connect two ideas where the first causes the second.
Why does à have an accent mark?
The accent mark shows that two 'a's have merged together. The verb ir (here, vai) is followed by the preposition a (to). Since fisioterapia is a feminine noun, it uses the article a (the). Instead of writing a a, they combine into à (to the).
Could paciente refer to a female patient?
Yes. Paciente is a noun that does not change its ending based on gender. To show that the patient is female, you would simply change the article to feminine: a paciente.

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