Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Seja com glúten, seja com laticínios, eu como tudo. - Whether it is with gluten or with dairy products, I eat everything.

Seja com glúten, seja com laticínios, eu como tudo.

Whether it is with gluten or with dairy products, I eat everything.

Breakdown of Seja com glúten, seja com laticínios, eu como tudo.

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?

Yes! You could just as easily say Quer com glúten, quer com laticínios, eu como tudo. Both pairs mean 'whether... or' and are completely interchangeable when presenting alternative conditions like this.

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?