Hypothetical Comparisons with "Como se"
When describing how someone or something is behaving, we often compare their actions to an imaginary, contrary-to-fact situation. To say "as if", Portuguese uses the phrase como se.
Because the scenario following como se is hypothetical (e.g., the person is not actually a spy, or the mission is not actually simple), this phrase always triggers the Imperfect Subjunctive. You will recognize this tense by its characteristic -sse endings (such as fosse).
| He is acting as if he were a spy. | Ele está a agir como se fosse um espião. |
| The secret agent speaks as if the mission were simple. | O agente secreto fala como se a missão fosse simples. |
Describing Behavior
You can pair como se with any verb that describes an action or behavior, such as agir (to act), falar (to talk), or vigiar (to surveil).
Notice how the main verb describing the real action is in the present indicative, while the verb describing the imaginary scenario stays firmly in the imperfect subjunctive (like soubesse, estivesse, or visse).
| The enemy watches him as if they knew his identity. | O inimigo vigia-o como se soubesse a identidade dele. |
| They talk about the secret project as if the enemy were here. | Eles falam sobre o projeto secreto como se o inimigo estivesse aqui. |
| He acts as if he did not see the spy. | Ele age como se não visse o espião. |
Mission Vocabulary
In the world of espionage, an agent might need a good disguise (o disfarce). Here is one final example bringing together our secret agent vocabulary and the como se structure.
| The agent prepares the disguise as if the mission were urgent. | O agente prepara o disfarce como se a missão fosse urgente. |