vende-se/aluga-se

Passive Se Examples

Level 4

The construction vende-se or aluga-se is the standard way to express 'for sale' or 'for rent' in Portuguese. It is a passive voice structure where the object being sold or rented is actually the grammatical subject.

How It Works

This pattern is formally known as the voz passiva sintética (synthetic passive voice). It is the preferred register for commercial signs, classified ads, and formal notices.

1. Verb Agreement: Unlike the English 'For Sale' which is a fixed phrase, the Portuguese version is a sentence. Therefore, if you are selling multiple items, the verb must be plural.

  • Vende-se este carro. (This car is for sale.)
  • Vendem-se estes carros. (These cars are for sale.)

2. Verb Types: This construction works with any verb that has a direct object. This includes transitive direct verbs (like vender or alugar) and transitive direct/indirect verbs (like entregar), provided the direct object is present to function as the subject.

3. Placement: In formal writing and signs, the pronoun is attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen (enclisis). However, if a negative word like não is present, the pronoun moves before the verb (proclisis).

4. No Agent: You cannot mention who is selling the item in this specific structure. If you want to say 'The house is for sale by the owner,' you must use the analytical passive voice (A casa é vendida pelo dono).

Examples (4)

  1. Vende-se esta casa de praia.

    This beach house is for sale.

    Word by Word: Sells-itself this house of beach.

    The verb is singular because 'casa' is singular.

  2. Alugam-se quartos para estudantes.

    Rooms for rent for students.

    Word by Word: Rent-themselves rooms for students.

    The verb 'alugam' is plural to agree with 'quartos'.

  3. Não se aceitam cartões de crédito.

    Credit cards are not accepted.

    Word by Word: Not themselves accept cards of credit.

    The negative word 'não' pulls the 'se' to the front of the verb.

  4. Vendem-se dois carros usados em bom estado.

    Two used cars in good condition are for sale.

    Word by Word: Sell-themselves two cars used in good state.

    Even in long sentences, the verb must agree with the plural subject 'dois carros'.

Common Mistakes

  • Failing to pluralize the verb when the subject is plural.

    Vende-se apartamentos novos.
    Vendem-se apartamentos novos.

    In formal grammar, 'apartamentos' is the subject, so the verb must be plural ('vendem-se'). Using the singular is common in casual speech but considered an error in writing.

  • Trying to name the person performing the action (the agent).

    Aluga-se a casa pelo proprietário.
    A casa é alugada pelo proprietário.

    The synthetic passive (with 'se') does not allow an agent introduced by 'por'. Use the analytical passive voice instead.

  • Pluralizing the verb when it is followed by a preposition (Indeterminate Subject).

    Precisam-se de funcionários.
    Precisa-se de funcionários.

    When a verb requires a preposition (like 'precisar de'), the 'se' indicates an indeterminate subject, not a passive voice. In this case, the verb must always remain in the singular. See Precisa-se de for more.

How It Connects

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

vende-se/aluga-seLevel 4Passive Se Examples

Learn This First

To understand 'vende-se' and 'aluga-se', you need to be familiar with basic present tense verb conjugations and how the pronoun 'se' attaches to the end of a verb to create a passive or impersonal meaning.

Words in This Pattern