Breakdown of Ela veste-se com cuidado, pois vai a um jantar importante.
ela
she
um
a
ir
to go
o jantar
the dinner
pois
because
importante
important
com cuidado
carefully
vestir‑se
to dress
a
to
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Portuguese grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ela veste-se com cuidado, pois vai a um jantar importante.
What does the reflexive pronoun -se in “veste-se” indicate, and why is it attached to the verb?
The -se shows that the action is reflexive—it tells us that the subject (ela) is performing the action on herself, so “veste-se” literally means “dresses herself.” In European Portuguese, this clitic pronoun is usually attached to the end of a conjugated verb in affirmative sentences.
Why is “veste-se” used instead of placing the pronoun before the verb (as in “ela se veste”)?
In European Portuguese, when the sentence is affirmative, the norm is to attach the reflexive pronoun to the end of the verb (enclisis), forming “veste-se.” Although in some contexts—especially in negative, interrogative, or certain marked constructions—the pronoun may appear before the verb (proclisis), this sentence follows the standard enclitic pattern.
What does the phrase com cuidado mean, and what role does it play in the sentence?
“Com cuidado” translates literally to “with care,” functioning as an adverbial phrase that explains how her dressing action is performed. It emphasizes that she dresses carefully, likely because of the important event she is about to attend.
How does the conjunction pois function in the sentence?
The word pois serves as a causal conjunction, similar to “because” or “since” in English. It links the two clauses by providing the reason for her dressing carefully—that is, she is going to an important dinner.
How is the phrase a um jantar importante structured, and why isn’t there a contraction between a and um?
The structure consists of the preposition a (meaning “to”) followed by the indefinite article um (meaning “a”). In Portuguese, contractions typically occur with the definite article—for example, a + o becomes ao. Since um is an indefinite article, no contraction takes place, so the phrase remains “a um jantar importante.”
Are there any notable differences in how this sentence might be constructed in European Portuguese versus Brazilian Portuguese?
Yes, while both variants use reflexive verbs, European Portuguese typically attaches the reflexive pronoun to the end of the verb (as in “veste-se”), whereas in Brazilian Portuguese it is quite common to place the pronoun before the verb (resulting in “ela se veste”). Apart from this difference in clitic placement, the vocabulary and conjunction usage in this sentence are generally consistent between the two.