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Portuguese (Portugal)

### Options and Alternatives: Seja... Seja

When discussing flexible choices, you will often want to say "whether it is this or that." In Portuguese, we express these alternatives using **seja... seja**.

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Literally "be it... be it," this structure uses the third-person singular present subjunctive of *ser*. It sets up two possible conditions, emphasizing that the outcome is the same either way.

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### Discussing Dietary Habits

When talking about nutrition, a useful verb is **ingerir** (to ingest or consume).

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In the present indicative, the first-person singular changes the "g" to a "j" (*eu ingiro*) to keep the soft "j" sound.

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Because *ingerir* is an *-ir* verb, its present subjunctive forms use an "a" (*ingira*, *ingiras*, etc.). You will see this triggered by phrases expressing necessity (*é preciso que*) or concessions (*por mais que*).

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Finally, we can combine vocabulary for restrictions with the **seja... seja** structure to discuss any type of diet:

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Whether... or (seja... seja)

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
whether (in seja... seja)	seja
vegan	vegano
nutritious	nutritivo
Whether it is vegan or vegetarian, the dish is nutritious.	Seja vegano, seja vegetariano, o prato é nutritivo.
the protein	a proteína
Whether it is fish or meat, the protein is nutritious.	Seja peixe, seja carne, a proteína é nutritiva.
the gluten	o glúten
the dairy product	o laticínio
They used to cut out gluten, as well as dairy products.	Eles costumavam cortar o glúten, além dos laticínios.
Whether it is with gluten or with dairy products, I eat everything.	Seja com glúten, seja com laticínios, eu como tudo.
the vitamin	a vitamina
We need protein, as well as vitamins.	Nós precisamos de proteína, além de vitaminas.
to ingest	ingerir
the nutrient	o nutriente
It is necessary that you ingest all the nutrients.	É preciso que tu ingiras todos os nutrientes.
However much you ingest vitamins, you lack other nutrients.	Por mais que ingiras vitaminas, faltam-te outros nutrientes.
restricted	restrito
Are you vegan? Your diet is so restricted!	És vegano? A tua dieta é tão restrita!
Whether the diet is restricted or free, it must be nutritious.	Seja a dieta restrita, seja livre, tem de ser nutritiva.
Do you ingest dairy products every day? — I do.	Ingeres laticínios todos os dias? — Ingiro.
Since the menu is restricted, she takes a vitamin.	Visto que a ementa é restrita, ela toma uma vitamina.
Gluten is not an essential nutrient.	O glúten não é um nutriente essencial.