Breakdown of Se bem que eu goste de banana e pera, hoje apetece-me mais morango.
Questions & Answers about Se bem que eu goste de banana e pera, hoje apetece-me mais morango.
Se bem que means although, even though, or granted that.
In this sentence, it introduces a contrast:
- Se bem que eu goste de banana e pera = Although I like banana and pear
- hoje apetece-me mais morango = today I feel more like strawberry
So the whole sentence sets up a contrast between a general preference and what the speaker wants today.
Because se bem que normally triggers the subjunctive in Portuguese.
- eu gosto = indicative, plain statement: I like
- eu goste = present subjunctive
After expressions like se bem que, Portuguese often uses the subjunctive because the clause is being presented as a concession: although/even though...
So:
- Se bem que eu goste... = Although I like...
This is one of the most common things learners have to get used to: certain conjunctions automatically require the subjunctive.
Yes, you often can omit eu in Portuguese:
- Se bem que goste de banana e pera...
Portuguese is a pro-drop language, so subject pronouns are often left out when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
Here, goste already tells us it is eu.
Including eu can add a little emphasis or clarity, but it is not strictly necessary.
In Portuguese, when talking about foods in a general way, it is very common to use the noun without an article, especially after verbs like gostar de or in food-preference contexts.
So:
- gostar de banana e pera
- apetecer morango
can sound natural as general references to those foods.
Compare English:
- I like banana and pear This sounds a bit odd in English, where we would usually say bananas and pears or banana and pear in a more “food category” sense.
Portuguese allows this kind of generic singular much more naturally.
You could also hear other versions depending on context, such as:
- gosto de bananas e peras
- apetecem-me mais morangos
But the singular form is very normal when referring to food generally.
Because in Portuguese, singular nouns are often used to talk about a food type in a general or uncountable way.
So:
- banana
- pera
- morango
can mean something like:
- banana as a food
- pear as a food
- strawberry as a food/flavour
This is especially common when talking about likes, tastes, ingredients, or cravings.
If you used the plural:
- gosto de bananas e peras
- hoje apetecem-me mais morangos
that would also be correct, but it may sound a bit more like actual countable fruits rather than the general food category.
Apetece-me comes from the verb apetecer, which in European Portuguese often means:
- to feel like
- to fancy
- to be appealing to someone
So:
- apetece-me morango = I feel like strawberry
- more literally: strawberry appeals to me
This verb works differently from English. The person who feels the desire is expressed as an indirect object:
- apetece-me = is appealing to me
- apetece-te = is appealing to you
- apetece-lhe = is appealing to him/her
So Portuguese does not structure it as I want strawberry, but more like strawberry appeals to me.
Because in European Portuguese, object pronouns often come after the verb in normal affirmative clauses. This is called enclisis.
So in Portugal, it is very natural to say:
- apetece-me
- diz-me
- mostra-me
In many Brazilian Portuguese contexts, you are more likely to hear:
- me apetece (though apetecer itself is less common in Brazil in this sense)
So apetece-me is a very European Portuguese word order.
Because the grammatical subject is morango, which is singular.
Think of it like this:
- Morango apetece-me.
= Strawberry appeals to me.
Since morango is singular, the verb is singular:
- apetece
If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural:
- Apetecem-me morangos.
= I feel like strawberries.
So the verb agrees with the thing wanted, not with the person who wants it.
Here mais means more.
So:
- hoje apetece-me mais morango
= today I feel more like strawberry = today I’m more in the mood for strawberry
It suggests comparison, usually with the other fruits just mentioned:
- I do like banana and pear,
- but today strawberry sounds better.
This is not necessarily a strict mathematical comparison; it is just expressing preference.
Portuguese, like English, often puts the concessive clause first for emphasis:
- Se bem que eu goste de banana e pera, hoje apetece-me mais morango.
This is similar to English:
- Although I like bananas and pears, today I feel more like strawberry.
Starting with se bem que... frames the sentence as:
- a general fact
- followed by a contrasting present preference
It is a very natural way to structure the idea.
Yes. Embora is another common way to say although.
For example:
- Embora eu goste de banana e pera, hoje apetece-me mais morango.
Like se bem que, embora also takes the subjunctive.
The difference is mostly one of style and nuance:
- embora can sound a bit more standard or formal
- se bem que can feel a bit more conversational in many contexts
Both are perfectly valid.
Yes, pera without the accent is the modern standard spelling.
Before the spelling reform, the fruit was often written pêra to distinguish it from pera in older usage. Under current standard orthography, the accent is no longer normally used, so:
- pera = correct modern spelling
Learners may still see pêra in older texts, older books, or from speakers who prefer traditional spelling.
Yes. Portuguese often allows several natural variations depending on style and exactly what you want to emphasize.
For example:
- Se bem que eu goste de bananas e peras, hoje apetecem-me mais morangos.
- Embora goste de banana e pera, hoje apetece-me mais morango.
- Apesar de eu gostar de banana e pera, hoje apetece-me mais morango.
These all express roughly the same idea, but with small differences in structure and tone.
The original sentence is useful because it shows several important European Portuguese features at once:
- se bem que
- subjunctive
- omission or use of subject pronouns
- food nouns in generic singular
- apetecer with an indirect object pronoun
- European Portuguese pronoun placement: apetece-me