Breakdown of Seja com glúten, seja com laticínios, eu como tudo.
eu
I
com
with
comer
to eat
tudo
everything
seja
whether (in seja... seja)
o glúten
the gluten
o laticínio
the dairy product
Questions & Answers about Seja com glúten, seja com laticínios, eu como tudo.
Why do we use the subjunctive seja here instead of the indicative é?
The phrase seja... seja translates to 'whether it is... or' (or 'be it... be it'). We use the subjunctive because it expresses hypothetical alternatives. Even though the speaker eats everything in reality, the specific conditions (having gluten or having dairy) are presented as variables that do not change the final outcome.
Can I use quer... quer instead of seja... seja in this sentence?
Does seja always stay in the third-person singular in this type of construction?
Usually, yes. In this sentence, it acts like an impersonal 'be it' or 'whether it is'. However, if it directly functioned as the main verb for plural subjects (like 'whether they are...'), it would conjugate to sejam. But because it is followed by the preposition com here, it remains impersonal and singular.
Why do we use tudo at the end instead of todo?
Tudo is an invariable pronoun that means 'everything' in a general, abstract sense. You use todo (and its variations like todos) when modifying a specific noun, such as todos os laticínios (all the dairy products). Since the speaker simply means 'everything' without referring back to a specific noun group, tudo is the right choice.
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