Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Ela reage como se fosse culpada, mesmo quando é completamente inocente. - She reacts as if she were guilty, even when she is completely innocent.

In Portuguese, como se (as if) almost always triggers the subjunctive, because it introduces a situation that is hypothetical, unreal, or contrary to fact.

fosse = imperfect subjunctive of ser
era / é = indicative forms of ser

Here the idea is: she reacts as if she were guilty, but in reality she is not. Because this guilt is imagined/unreal, Portuguese uses the subjunctive:

Ela reage como se fosse culpada.
→ hypothetical / unreal guilt

Using the indicative (como se era / é culpada) is considered wrong in standard Portuguese in this structure.

Why is it é completamente inocente and not in the subjunctive, like seja inocente?

The second part, mesmo quando é completamente inocente, talks about a real, factual situation: she actually is innocent.

é (present indicative) is used for facts and reality.
The subjunctive (seja) is used for doubt, possibility, wish, hypothesis, etc.

Here there is no doubt: she is innocent. So:

… mesmo quando é completamente inocente. ✅ (stating a fact)
… mesmo quando seja completamente inocente. ❌ (sounds wrong here in European Portuguese; it suggests doubt/condition that does not fit the meaning given)

What exactly does como se mean, and can I say just como instead?

como se means as if / as though and introduces a comparison with something that is not real or not confirmed.

Ela reage como se fosse culpada.
= She reacts as if she were guilty.

If you say only como, it usually means just like / as and doesn’t carry the same “unreal” nuance:

Ela reage como uma culpada.
= She reacts like a guilty person.
(a comparison, but more literal; she behaves that way, not necessarily implying it’s unreal)

So:

como se → “as if” + usually subjunctive
como → “like / as”, more neutral comparison, no need for subjunctive

Why is it culpada with an -a? What would change with a man or plural?

culpada is the feminine singular form of the adjective culpado (guilty).

In Portuguese, adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun or pronoun:

ela (she) → feminine singular → culpada
ele (he) → masculine singular → culpado
elas (they, all women) → feminine plural → culpadas
eles (they, mixed or all men) → masculine plural → culpados

Examples:

Ele reage como se fosse culpado.
Eles reagem como se fossem culpados.
Elas reagem como se fossem culpadas.

Why doesn’t inocente change to inocenta for the feminine?

Inocente is an adjective that has only one form for masculine and feminine in the singular:

o homem inocente (the innocent man)
a mulher inocente (the innocent woman)

In the plural it becomes inocentes for both genders:

os homens inocentes
as mulheres inocentes

So:

Ela é completamente inocente.
Ele é completamente inocente.

Both are correct and use the same form inocente.

Why is there no article before culpada or inocente (not a culpada, a inocente)?

In this sentence, culpada and inocente are predicative adjectives, not nouns. They describe a state/quality of ela, with the verb ser:

Ela é inocente. (She is innocent.)
Ela parece culpada. (She seems guilty.)

When adjectives are used this way, you don’t normally put an article:

Ela é inteligente. (not ela é a inteligente, unless you’re nominalizing it: “she is the smart one”.)

If you say:

Ela reage como se fosse a culpada.

Then a culpada becomes a noun phrase: “the guilty one / the culprit”. That changes the meaning slightly: she reacts as if she were the culprit (a specific role/person), not just “guilty” in general.

What does mesmo quando add? How is it different from just quando?

quando by itself = when (neutral in tone).
mesmo quando = even when (emphasizes contrast).

So:

Ela reage assim quando é inocente.
= She reacts like that when she is innocent. (just a time condition)
Ela reage assim mesmo quando é inocente.
= She reacts like that even when she is innocent.
(emphasizes that her reaction is surprising/illogical, because she’s innocent.)

mesmo here has the meaning even, not same.

What are the different meanings of mesmo in Portuguese? It seems very flexible.

Yes, mesmo is very flexible. Common meanings:

even (intensifier, as in the sentence):
- mesmo quando = even when
- mesmo que seja difícil = even if it is difficult
the same:
- a mesma pessoa = the same person
- no mesmo dia = on the same day
really / indeed / actually (emphasis):
- Ele é mesmo simpático. = He is really nice.
- Ela fez isso mesmo. = She really did that.

Context and position in the sentence show which meaning is intended.
In mesmo quando é completamente inocente, it clearly means even.

Can completamente go in another position, like é inocente completamente?

The natural position for adverbs such as completamente is usually before the adjective:

é completamente inocente ✅ (most natural)
é inocente completamente ❌ (sounds odd/unnatural)

Other acceptable variants (with slightly different emphasis):

é mesmo completamente inocente (adds extra emphasis)
é inocente, completamente. (after a pause, for strong emphasis in speech or informal writing)

But in normal, neutral speech/writing, é completamente inocente is the best option.

What tense is reage, and how is reagir conjugated in the present?

reagir = to react (3rd conjugation verb in -ir)

reage is:

3rd person singular
present indicative

Present indicative of reagir:

eu reajo (I react)
tu reages (you react – informal singular)
ele/ela/você reage (he/she/you react)
nós reagimos (we react)
vocês reagem (you react – plural)
eles/elas reagem (they react)

So Ela reage = She reacts / She behaves (like that) in that situation.

Can the subject pronoun ela be omitted in European Portuguese?

Yes, often. Portuguese is a pro‑drop language, so the subject can be omitted if the verb ending makes it clear who the subject is.

Here:

Reage como se fosse culpada…

would normally be understood as “She reacts as if she were guilty…”, especially if the context already mentioned the person.

However, speakers sometimes keep the pronoun:

to avoid ambiguity,
to emphasize the subject,
or simply by style.

So both:

Ela reage como se fosse culpada…
Reage como se fosse culpada…

are grammatically correct. The first is a bit clearer in isolation (no prior context).

Could I say como se seja culpada instead of como se fosse culpada?

No. With como se expressing an unreal/hypothetical situation, standard Portuguese uses the imperfect subjunctive (fosse), not the present subjunctive (seja).

Correct:

Ela reage como se fosse culpada.

Incorrect in this sense:

Ela reage como se seja culpada. ❌

The choice of fosse links to the idea of something contrary to reality or very unlikely, similar to English “as if she were” rather than “as if she is”.

Is there any difference between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese in this sentence?

Structurally and grammatically, the sentence is fine and natural in both European and Brazilian Portuguese:

Ela reage como se fosse culpada, mesmo quando é completamente inocente.

Main differences would be:

Pronunciation (especially vowels, reage, fosse, inocente).
In Brazil, people might be slightly more tolerant of como se
- indicative in informal speech in some regions, but the subjunctive (fosse) is still the standard and recommended form.

So you can safely use this sentence in either variety.

How is this sentence pronounced in European Portuguese?

Approximate pronunciation in European Portuguese (using rough English approximations):

Ela ≈ EH-lɐ (EH like “bed”, final -a reduced, almost like a short “uh”)
reage ≈ hree-AH-zhɨ
- r = guttural, like French r
- ge = “zh” as in “measure” + reduced vowel ɨ (like a very short, neutral “uh”)
como ≈ KOH-mu (final -o reduced)
se ≈ sɨ (short, reduced vowel)
fosse ≈ FOH-sɨ
culpada ≈ kul-PAH-dɐ (final -a reduced)
mesmo ≈ MEHZ-mu (the s sounds like z)
quando ≈ KWUN-du (nasal an; final -o reduced)
é ≈ EH (clear open e)
completamente ≈ kõm-ple-tɐ-MEN-tɨ (first o nasal; some reduced vowels)
inocente ≈ ee-nu-SEN-tɨ

Spoken naturally, many unstressed vowels are quite reduced, and the rhythm is more compact than in Brazilian Portuguese.

Why is there a comma before mesmo quando?

The comma separates two clauses:

Ela reage como se fosse culpada
mesmo quando é completamente inocente

The second clause adds extra information in contrast (“even when…”), and the comma helps:

to mark the pause that would naturally appear in speech,
to show that the second idea is an added circumstance rather than a tightly integrated essential clause.

In many similar sentences, Portuguese normally uses a comma before mesmo quando when it introduces an additional contrastive idea:

Ele sorri, mesmo quando está triste.
Eles continuam, mesmo quando é difícil.