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Portuguese (Portugal)

In Portuguese, adding a reflexive pronoun to a common verb often creates a completely new, unpredictable meaning. Let's explore some of these lexical shifts during a chaotic day at an amusement park.

### *Passar-se* (To freak out) and *Perder-se* (To get lost)

Normally, *passar* means "to pass". But when made reflexive, *passar-se* translates to "to freak out", "to go crazy", or "to lose one's temper". Similarly, *perder* means "to lose" (like losing your keys), but *perder-se* means "to get lost".

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### *Achar-se* (To think highly of oneself) and *Virar-se* (To manage)

*Achar* usually means "to think" or "to find". Add a reflexive pronoun, and *achar-se* takes on a negative connotation, meaning "to think highly of oneself" or "to be full of oneself".

Meanwhile, *virar* means "to turn". The reflexive *virar-se* figuratively means "to manage", "to get by", or "to fend for oneself".

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### *Dar-se* (To get along) and *Bater-se* (To fight)

The verb *dar* means "to give". However, *dar-se* — typically followed by *bem* (well) or *mal* (poorly) — means "to get along" with someone.

Finally, *bater* means "to hit". The reflexive *bater-se* shifts the meaning to "to fight" or "to struggle". When fighting over or for a specific thing, this verb is followed by the preposition *por* (or its contractions like *pelo*, *pela*).

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Verbs that change meaning when reflexive

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Question	Answer
to freak out	passar-se
the mascot	a mascote
The little boy freaked out when he saw the mascot.	O rapazinho passou-se quando viu a mascote.
the maze	o labirinto
Maybe she will freak out in the maze!	Talvez ela se passe no labirinto!
The mascot was in the maze with me.	A mascote esteve no labirinto comigo.
to get along	dar-se
The two clowns don't get along with me.	Os dois palhaços não se dão bem comigo.
Perhaps they get along well in the maze.	Talvez eles se deem bem no labirinto.
to get lost	perder-se
The tourists couldn't find the exit and got lost.	Os turistas não puderam encontrar a saída e perderam-se.
The girls got lost because the maze is huge.	As raparigas perderam-se porque o labirinto é enorme.
to think highly of oneself	achar-se
He was able to win the game and now he thinks highly of himself.	Ele pôde ganhar o jogo e agora acha-se muito.
The tourist thinks highly of himself because he was on the carousel.	O turista acha-se muito porque esteve no carrossel.
to manage	virar-se
I manage well alone, you can go to the roller coaster.	Eu viro-me bem sozinho, tu podes ir à montanha-russa.
Did your brother manage well with you on the Ferris wheel?	O teu irmão virou-se bem contigo na roda-gigante?
the cotton candy	o algodão-doce
to get nauseous	enjoar
I ate all the cotton candy alone and got a little nauseous.	Comi o algodão-doce todo sozinho e enjoei um bocadinho.
to fight	bater-se
The children fought over the cotton candy.	As crianças bateram-se pelo algodão-doce.
Maybe you will get nauseous on the carousel.	Talvez tu enjoes no carrossel.
They fought for a spot in the line for the Ferris wheel.	Eles bateram-se por um lugar na fila para a roda-gigante.