se

Ethical/Expletive Se

Level 6

The se pleonástico (or partícula de realce) is an optional pronoun added to certain verbs to add flavor, emphasis, or a sense of spontaneity. It is most common with verbs of movement or emotion.

How It Works

The partícula expletiva or partícula de realce (also known as se pleonástico) is a stylistic device used to give more 'vigor' or 'grace' to a sentence. It is not a grammatical requirement but a choice made by the speaker or writer to emphasize the action.

1. Key Characteristics:

  • Redundancy: If you remove the pronoun, the sentence remains grammatically correct and retains its basic meaning.
  • Agreement: The pronoun must match the subject. While often called 'se', it becomes me for 'eu', te for 'tu', etc.
  • Verbs: It is most frequently found with verbs of movement (ir-se, partir-se), physiological/emotional states (rir-se, sorrir-se, morrer-se), or disappearance (sumir-se, passar-se).

2. Nuance and Register:
In European Portuguese, it is quite common in daily speech (e.g., rir-se). In Brazil, it is often felt as more literary or emphatic, though fixed expressions like foi-se embora are universal.

3. Distinction from other 'se' types:
It is crucial not to confuse this with reflexive pronouns (where the action is done to oneself) or pronominal verbs (where the pronoun is mandatory). In the expletive version, the subject isn't 'doing' the verb to themselves; they are simply performing the action with more intensity.

Examples (5)

  1. Vão-se os anéis, ficam-se os dedos.

    The rings go, the fingers stay.

    Word by Word: Go-themselves the rings, stay-themselves the fingers.

    A famous proverb where 'se' adds a sense of finality and balance to the two clauses.

  2. Eu me ri muito com aquela piada.

    I laughed a lot at that joke.

    Word by Word: I me laughed much with that joke.

    Here, 'me' is expletive. 'Eu ri muito' is also correct, but 'me ri' sounds more spontaneous and involved.

  3. Passaram-se muitos anos desde então.

    Many years have passed since then.

    Word by Word: Passed-themselves many years since then.

    The 'se' emphasizes the long duration or the 'passing away' of time.

  4. Ele foi-se embora sem dizer nada.

    He went away without saying anything.

    Word by Word: He went-himself away without to say nothing.

    In the expression 'ir-se embora', the 'se' is a classic particle of emphasis.

  5. Nós nos fomos logo que a festa acabou.

    We left as soon as the party ended.

    Word by Word: We us went soon that the party ended.

    Demonstrates that the pronoun must agree with the subject (nós -> nos).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'se' for all persons instead of matching the subject.

    Eu se fui embora cedo.
    Eu me fui embora cedo.

    The expletive pronoun must agree with the subject, just like a reflexive pronoun.

  • Removing the pronoun from mandatory pronominal verbs.

    Eu queixei do barulho.
    Eu me queixei do barulho.

    Unlike the expletive 'se', verbs like 'queixar-se' (to complain) require the pronoun for the sentence to be grammatical.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

seLevel 6Ethical/Expletive Se

Learn This First

The 'se pleonástico' (or ethical/expletive 'se') is an advanced stylistic feature. To understand it, a learner must already be comfortable with reflexive pronouns and their placement, as this pattern uses the same forms but removes their literal reflexive meaning to add emphasis or emotional nuance to verbs of movement or consumption (like 'ir-se' or 'comer-se').

Words in This Pattern