Things That Just Happen: The Middle Voice
Sometimes things happen on their own. A glass breaks, clothes shrink, or a machine breaks down. When an action occurs spontaneously and no specific person is directly responsible, European Portuguese uses the pronoun se.
This is often called the "middle voice" or "anti-causative." Instead of saying "someone ruined the clothes" (active voice), you attach se to the verb to express that "the clothes ruined themselves" or simply "the clothes got ruined."
| Delicate silk gets ruined in the washing machine. | A seda delicada estraga-se na máquina de lavar roupa. |
| Clothes get ruined and wear out over time. | A roupa estraga-se e desgasta-se com o tempo. |
Wear, Tear, and Laundry Mishaps
Many verbs describing physical damage or changing states commonly use this structure. When talking about laundry and the natural lifespan of clothing, you will frequently pair se with the following verbs:
- desgastar-se: to wear out
- descoser-se: to come unstitched / come undone
- alargar-se: to stretch
| The seam of the shirt comes undone in the wash. | A costura da camisa descose-se na lavagem. |
| The knit is stretching with every wash. | A malha está a alargar-se com cada lavagem. |
Pronoun Placement Reminders
As you have seen above, se usually attaches to the end of the verb with a hyphen in affirmative sentences (estraga-se).
However, certain "trigger" words pull the pronoun immediately before the verb. When your spontaneous action follows a relative pronoun like que (that/which) or a conjunction like porque (because), the se jumps to the front.
| The seam came unstitched because the thread broke. | A costura descoseu-se porque o fio se partiu. |
| Did you see the delicate pants that stretched? | Viste as calças delicadas que se alargaram? |
| He found himself looking at the knit that wore out during the wash. | Ele deu por si a olhar para a malha que se desgastou durante a lavagem. |