Se-Passive (Sintética Passive) | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

If you have ever seen a hand-painted sign reading vende-se on a parked car or aluga-se in a shop window, you have already met the se-passive (voz passiva sintética or passiva pronominal). It is Portuguese's compact, everyday way of saying something is done without naming who does it: fala-se inglês aqui — "English is spoken here." Where the ser-passive feels formal, the se-passive feels practical and is everywhere in commerce, signs, and recipes.

How it works

The formula could not be shorter:

se + transitive verb in the third person (singular or plural)

The noun in the sentence is the logical object — the thing being sold, spoken, rented — but it behaves grammatically like a subject, and the verb agrees with it. Singular noun → singular verb. Plural noun → plural verb.

Singular object → 3sg verb	Plural object → 3pl verb
Vende-se um carro.	Vendem-se carros.
Aluga-se uma casa.	Alugam-se casas.
Fala-se uma língua.	Falam-se várias línguas.

Fala-se inglês aqui.

English is spoken here.

Aluga-se apartamento mobiliado.

Furnished apartment for rent.

Vendem-se livros usados nesta loja.

Used books are sold in this shop.

Why this counts as passive

Here is the logic that makes the whole thing click. In vendem-se carros, nobody is selling themselves — the se is not reflexive. The sentence means "cars are sold," with the seller deliberately left unmentioned. The cars are not doing the action; they are receiving it. That is exactly what a passive does: it promotes the object to subject position and demotes (here, deletes) the agent.

Because carros is now functioning as the subject, the verb agrees with it — hence plural vendem-se, not vende-se, in careful grammar. This is the single rule that prescriptive grammarians insist on, and the single rule that Brazilians most often break in practice (more on that below).

Precisam-se de vendedores experientes.

Experienced salespeople needed. (classified ad)

Consertam-se relógios e joias.

Watches and jewelry repaired. (shop sign)

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To test whether agreement applies, ask: "is the noun the thing the action happens TO?" If yes, it is the logical object and the verb should agree with it. Alugam-se casas — the casas are being rented out, so plural verb.

Where you actually see it

The se-passive thrives in compressed, public, agent-irrelevant text:

Signs and classifieds: vende-se, aluga-se, precisa-se de, procura-se.
Recipes and instructions: bate-se a clara em neve, adicionam-se os ovos.
Formal announcements and notices: comunica-se aos passageiros que...

Bate-se a clara em neve e reserva-se.

Beat the egg white until stiff and set it aside. (recipe)

Adicionam-se duas xícaras de farinha à mistura.

Two cups of flour are added to the mixture. (recipe)

Procura-se cão perdido — recompensa.

Lost dog wanted (= sought) — reward. (lost-pet poster)

The agreement that Brazilians quietly drop

Now the honest part. Prescriptive grammar requires the verb to agree with a plural logical object: vendem-se carros. But in real Brazilian Portuguese — spoken and even much written usage — speakers overwhelmingly treat se as if it were an impersonal subject ("one sells cars") and leave the verb singular: vende-se carros.

This is one of the most documented features of Brazilian usage. You will see vende-se apartamentos on professional real-estate signs and hear aluga-se quartos from landlords without a second thought. Both forms exist; here is the register split:

Form	Status
Vendem-se carros.	Prescriptively correct; expected in formal/edited writing.
Vende-se carros.	Extremely common in speech and informal writing; increasingly accepted, but still flagged by editors.

Vendem-se carros usados. (formal, prescriptive)

Used cars sold.

Vende-se carros usados. (informal, very common in Brazil)

Used cars sold.

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For exams, formal writing, and impressing a professor: make the verb agree (alugam-se apartamentos). For sounding like a regular Brazilian on a street sign: the non-agreeing aluga-se apartamentos will pass unremarked. Know both, and choose by register.

The deeper reason for the drift is that Brazilians increasingly reanalyze the se in these sentences as the impersonal "one" rather than as a passive marker. Once se is felt to mean "one/someone," the noun stops being the subject and becomes a plain object — and an object does not force agreement. That is the same se you will meet on the se-impersonal page, and the blurring of the two is exactly why the agreement is eroding.

English has no direct equivalent

English cannot do this in one word. "Cars are sold here" needs the full passive; "they sell cars here" needs a vague subject. Portuguese packs both ideas into vende(m)-se carros. The closest English parallels are the agentless passive ("Spanish spoken here") and the generic "you/they," but neither uses a reflexive-looking pronoun, so English speakers rarely think to reach for se and instead overuse the ser-passive. Train yourself to default to se for signs, prices, recipes, and notices.

Common Mistakes

❌ Carros são vendidos aqui. (on a street sign)

Not wrong, but unnatural register — the ser-passive sounds stiff for a sign; use the se-passive.

✅ Vendem-se carros aqui.

Cars sold here.

❌ Se vende carros.

Incorrect for a written sign — Portuguese does not normally begin a clause with the clitic 'se'.

✅ Vende-se carros. / Vendem-se carros.

Cars for sale. (enclisis: the pronoun follows the verb)

❌ Falam-se inglês aqui.

Incorrect — 'inglês' is singular, so the verb must be singular.

✅ Fala-se inglês aqui.

English is spoken here.

❌ Alugam-se apartamento.

Incorrect — the plural verb does not match the singular 'apartamento'.

✅ Aluga-se apartamento. / Alugam-se apartamentos.

Apartment for rent. / Apartments for rent.

Key Takeaways

The se-passive is se + a third-person transitive verb, with the noun as the logical object.
In careful grammar the verb agrees with that noun: vende-se carro, vendem-se carros.
It is the natural choice for signs, classifieds, recipes, and notices — far more idiomatic than the ser-passive there.
Brazilians frequently drop the plural agreement (vende-se carros); both forms are heard, split by register.
Do not start a written clause with se — the clitic attaches after the verb (vende-se).

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