Breakdown of A menina abre a boca para o médico.
o médico
the doctor (m)
abrir
to open
para
to / for
a menina
the little girl
a boca
the mouth
Questions & Answers about A menina abre a boca para o médico.
Why does the Portuguese sentence say a boca (the mouth) instead of a sua boca (her mouth)?
In Portuguese, when referring to parts of your own body, you usually use the definite article (o or a) instead of a possessive pronoun like seu or sua. Since it is obvious the girl is opening her own mouth, abre a boca is the natural way to say it.
Why use para o here instead of pelo?
The preposition para is used here to show the direction or the recipient of the action (opening her mouth for the doctor to look inside). If you used pelo (a contraction of por + o), it would mean she is opening her mouth on behalf of the doctor, which sounds very strange in this context!
What is the difference between médico and doutor?
Médico specifically refers to a medical doctor by profession. Doutor is an academic title or a respectful way to address someone with a university degree in Portugal. While a patient might speak to a physician and call them Senhor Doutor, their actual job title is médico.
What is the infinitive (base form) of the verb abre?
It comes from the regular verb abrir (to open). Abre is the third-person singular form in the present tense, used for ele, ela (she), and você.
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