Accidental reflexives (partiu-se-me)

Accidental Reflexives

When you are clumsy in the kitchen, you might not want to take direct blame for dropping a plate or spilling coffee. In English, we might say "the platter broke on me" instead of "I broke the platter." Portuguese expresses this lack of intention using a special structure often called the accidental reflexive.

To build it, you make the object that had the accident the subject of the sentence. Then, you use the reflexive pronoun se along with an indirect object pronoun (me, te, lhe, nos, or lhes) to indicate who suffered the mishap.

Attaching Pronouns to the Verb

In standard affirmative sentences in Portugal, pronouns attach to the end of the verb. When combining se with an indirect object pronoun, they chain together with hyphens.

For example, if something spilled or broke on someone, the pronouns look like this:

• -se-me (on me)
• -se-te (on you, informal)
• -se-lhe (on him/her/you formal)
• -se-nos (on us)
• -se-lhes (on them/you all formal)

Notice how the verb conjugates to match the item that broke or spilled, while the pronouns show who the accident happened to.

Pronouns Before the Verb

Just like with regular object pronouns, certain "trigger" words force these pronouns to jump before the verb. These triggers include question words, negative words (like não), and conjunctions (like que or porque).

When the pronouns move before the verb, they drop the hyphens and remain separate words, sitting side by side: se me, se te, se lhe, etc.