B1 · The noun · about 4 minutes
Professions in the feminine
The -ista group behaves like every English job title: only the article moves.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need5
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- a históriathe history
- o jornalistathe journalist
- a taxa diretorathe policy rate
- o dentistathe dentist
- o engenheirothe engineer
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
Understand
RememberA profession after ser: no article.
- Signal words
- a médica
- a advogada
- a professora
- a atriz
- a jornalista
The form
The forms side by side
All the forms in one overview: first what each one stands for, then the form in Portuguese, so you can compare them directly.
| doctor, masculine and feminine | o médico / a médica |
| lawyer, masculine and feminine | o advogado / a advogada |
| teacher, masculine and feminine | o professor / a professora |
| actor and actress | o ator / a atriz |
| journalist, either gender | o/a jornalista |
| student, either gender | o/a estudante |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
-o becomes -a.
A médica chega às nove.The doctor arrives at nine.
After -or an -a is added.
A professora de história está de férias.The history teacher is on holiday.
A few change more than the ending.
A juíza ouviu as duas partes.The judge heard both sides.
Words in -ista change only the article.
É jornalista há dez anos.She has been a journalist for ten years.
Example sentences
A nova diretora começa na segunda-feira.The new director starts on Monday.
Ela trabalha como advogada no Porto.She works as a lawyer in Porto.
A nossa dentista está de férias esta semana.Our dentist is on holiday this week.
1 more example sentences
Ele é engenheiro, a irmã também é engenheira.He is an engineer, and so is his sister.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
After ser a profession takes no article: ela é advogada, not ela é uma advogada. English cannot leave the article out at all — « she is lawyer » is not a sentence — so the omission never happens by itself and has to be made on purpose. An article appears only once an adjective arrives: ela é uma advogada conhecida.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
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Your progress
What your lesson on this topic shows:
The lesson decides this, not a button: passed at 80% on the first try, mastered when you pass it again on another day.
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The feminine of a profession is usually formed the simplest way: -o becomes -a. O médico and a médica, o advogado and a advogada, o engenheiro and a engenheira, o diretor and a diretora.
After -or an -a is added (a professora, a escritora); a few change more: o ator becomes a atriz, o juiz becomes a juíza.
And then a large group does not change at all and is told apart only by the article. It takes every word in -ista — o or a jornalista, dentista, artista — and many in -e: o or a estudante, gerente, cliente. This is the group an English speaker already understands, because it is what English does with every job title there is.
For some offices two forms are in circulation. In Portugal a presidente is the usual one; in Brazil a presidenta is heard as well. Both are attested.
The verbs on this page, in every form: ser · estar · haver · começar · partir · trabalhar · ouvir