diff --git a/lingua_franca/lang/common_data_pt.py b/lingua_franca/lang/common_data_pt.py
index 6a0befd3..ca99ba3d 100644
--- a/lingua_franca/lang/common_data_pt.py
+++ b/lingua_franca/lang/common_data_pt.py
@@ -3,6 +3,21 @@
 
 _ARTICLES_PT = ["o", "a", "os", "as"]
 
+# word rules for gender
+_FEMALE_ENDINGS_PT = ["a", "as"]
+_MALE_ENDINGS_PT = ["o", "os"]
+
+# special cases, word lookup for words not covered by above rule
+_GENDERS_PT = {
+    "mulher": "f",
+    "mulheres": "f",
+    "homem": "m"
+}
+
+# context rules for gender
+_MALE_DETERMINANTS_PT = ["o", "os", "este", "estes", "esse", "esses"]
+_FEMALE_DETERMINANTS_PT = ["a", "as", "estas", "estas", "essa", "essas"]
+
 _NUMBERS_PT = {
     "zero": 0,
     "um": 1,
diff --git a/lingua_franca/lang/parse_pt.py b/lingua_franca/lang/parse_pt.py
index a677e73d..fa3de355 100644
--- a/lingua_franca/lang/parse_pt.py
+++ b/lingua_franca/lang/parse_pt.py
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@
 from dateutil.relativedelta import relativedelta
 from lingua_franca.lang.parse_common import is_numeric, look_for_fractions
 from lingua_franca.lang.common_data_pt import _FRACTION_STRING_PT, \
-    _ARTICLES_PT, _NUMBERS_PT
+    _ARTICLES_PT, _NUMBERS_PT, _FEMALE_DETERMINANTS_PT, _FEMALE_ENDINGS_PT,\
+    _MALE_DETERMINANTS_PT, _MALE_ENDINGS_PT, _GENDERS_PT
 
 
 def isFractional_pt(input_str):
@@ -667,7 +668,7 @@ def date_found():
                 dayOffset -= 2
             elif wordNext == "ante" and wordNextNext == "ontem":
                 dayOffset -= 2
-            elif (wordNext == "ante" and wordNext == "ante" and
+            elif (wordNext == "ante" and wordNextNext == "ante" and
                   wordNextNextNext == "ontem"):
                 dayOffset -= 3
             elif wordNext in days:
@@ -1122,18 +1123,33 @@ def pt_pruning(text, symbols=True, accents=True, agressive=True):
     return text
 
 
-def get_gender_pt(word, raw_string=""):
-    word = word.rstrip("s")
-    gender = None
-    words = raw_string.split(" ")
+def get_gender_pt(word, text=""):
+    # parse gender taking context into account
+    word = word.lower()
+    words = text.lower().split(" ")
     for idx, w in enumerate(words):
         if w == word and idx != 0:
-            previous = words[idx - 1]
-            gender = get_gender_pt(previous)
-            break
-    if not gender:
-        if word[-1] == "a":
-            gender = "f"
-        if word[-1] == "o" or word[-1] == "e":
-            gender = "m"
-    return gender
+            # in portuguese usually the previous word (a determinant)
+            # assigns gender to the next word
+            previous = words[idx - 1].lower()
+            if previous in _MALE_DETERMINANTS_PT:
+                return "m"
+            elif previous in _FEMALE_DETERMINANTS_PT:
+                return "f"
+
+    # get gender using only the individual word
+    # see if this word has the gender defined
+    if word in _GENDERS_PT:
+        return _GENDERS_PT[word]
+    singular = word.rstrip("s")
+    if singular in _GENDERS_PT:
+        return _GENDERS_PT[singular]
+    # in portuguese the last vowel usually defines the gender of a word
+    # the gender of the determinant takes precedence over this rule
+    for end_str in _FEMALE_ENDINGS_PT:
+        if word.endswith(end_str):
+            return "f"
+    for end_str in _MALE_ENDINGS_PT:
+        if word.endswith(end_str):
+            return "m"
+    return None
diff --git a/test/test_parse_pt.py b/test/test_parse_pt.py
index f07b91dc..114c095d 100644
--- a/test/test_parse_pt.py
+++ b/test/test_parse_pt.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ class TestNormalize(unittest.TestCase):
     """
         Test cases for Portuguese parsing
     """
+
     def test_articles_pt(self):
         self.assertEqual(normalize(u"isto é o teste",
                                    lang="pt", remove_articles=True),
@@ -244,15 +245,26 @@ def test_extractdatetime_default_pt(self):
             anchor, lang='pt-pt', default_time=default)
         self.assertEqual(default, res[0].time())
 
+
+class TestExtractGender(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_gender_pt(self):
+        # words with well defined grammatical gender rules
         self.assertEqual(get_gender("vaca", lang="pt"), "f")
         self.assertEqual(get_gender("cavalo", lang="pt"), "m")
         self.assertEqual(get_gender("vacas", lang="pt"), "f")
-        self.assertEqual(get_gender("boi", "o boi come erva", lang="pt"), "m")
+
+        # words specifically defined in a lookup dictionary
+        self.assertEqual(get_gender("homem", lang="pt"), "m")
+        self.assertEqual(get_gender("mulher", lang="pt"), "f")
+        self.assertEqual(get_gender("homems", lang="pt"), "m")
+        self.assertEqual(get_gender("mulheres", lang="pt"), "f")
+
+        # words where gender rules do not work but context does
         self.assertEqual(get_gender("boi", lang="pt"), None)
-        self.assertEqual(get_gender("homem", "estes homem come merda",
+        self.assertEqual(get_gender("boi", "o boi come erva", lang="pt"), "m")
+        self.assertEqual(get_gender("homem", "este homem come bois",
                                     lang="pt"), "m")
-        self.assertEqual(get_gender("ponte", lang="pt"), "m")
+        self.assertEqual(get_gender("ponte", lang="pt"), None)
         self.assertEqual(get_gender("ponte", "essa ponte caiu",
                                     lang="pt"), "f")