Breakdown of O fecho da bolsa partiu-se ontem.
Questions & Answers about O fecho da bolsa partiu-se ontem.
Portuguese contracts preposition + article:
- de + a = da (feminine singular)
- de + o = do (masculine singular)
- de + as = das
- de + os = dos
So o fecho da bolsa = “the bag’s fastener.”
The ‑se makes the verb pronominal to express that the thing broke on its own (no explicit agent). It’s the natural way in European Portuguese to say something “got broken.” Compare:
- O João partiu o fecho. = “João broke the fastener.” (someone did it)
- O fecho partiu‑se. = “The fastener broke.” (it broke/ended up broken)
Partir has multiple meanings:
- “to leave/depart”: O comboio partiu às sete. (“The train left at 7.”)
- “to break (something)”: O João partiu o copo.
- “to break (by itself)” (pronominal): O copo partiu‑se. Here, with ‑se and an inanimate subject (o fecho), it means “broke.”
In European Portuguese, in neutral affirmative clauses with no “attractors,” clitic pronouns go after the verb and attach with a hyphen (enclisis): partiu‑se. They go before the verb (proclisis) when something pulls them left, such as:
- Negatives: Não se partiu.
- Interrogatives/relatives: Porque se partiu?, o fecho que se partiu
- Many subordinators: Quando se partiu, …, Se se partiu, …, Que se partiu, …
Yes:
- Ontem, o fecho da bolsa partiu‑se. You can also invert the subject after an initial adverb, which is very natural in European Portuguese:
- Ontem partiu‑se o fecho da bolsa.
Yes—when there’s a proclisis trigger in the same clause. For example:
- Disseram que se partiu ontem.
- Quando se partiu, eu estava a sair. But in a neutral main clause with no trigger, European Portuguese prefers enclisis: partiu‑se. Brazilian Portuguese typically prefers proclisis even in neutral contexts: se partiu.
It’s the simple past (pretérito perfeito simples): “broke.” For a single completed event—especially with time markers like ontem—European Portuguese uses this tense. The Portuguese present perfect (tem partido) usually implies repeated/ongoing occurrences, not a single one:
- O fecho tem‑se partido facilmente ultimamente. (“It’s been breaking easily lately.”)
- partir‑se: something snapped/broke (common in EP).
- quebrar‑se: understood, but far more common in Brazil than in Portugal.
- avariar‑se: to break down (devices/machinery). For a zipper mechanism failing, you might hear O fecho avariou‑se, but more idiomatic is often:
- encravar: to jam. O fecho encravou.
- estragar‑se: to get damaged/ruined (broad).
In Portugal, say fecho de correr. Examples:
- O fecho de correr da bolsa partiu‑se.
- Older/less common: fecho‑éclair.
- In Brazil: zíper.
- fecho: the x is “sh” (roughly “FEH‑shoo”).
- bolsa: dark L; the s before a consonant is “s” (roughly “BOHL‑suh”).
- partiu‑se: “par‑TEEW‑suh”.
- ontem: nasal ending; roughly “ON‑tem” (with a nasalized final syllable).