Learn Portuguese (Portugal): A crise tem vindo a agravar-se cada vez mais. - The crisis has been worsening more and more.

A crise tem vindo a agravar-se cada vez mais.

The crisis has been worsening more and more.

Breakdown of A crise tem vindo a agravar-se cada vez mais.

Questions & Answers about A crise tem vindo a agravar-se cada vez mais.

How does tem vindo a work here to mean 'has been'?

This structure shows an action that started in the past, has progressed continuously, and is still happening now. It is formed using the present tense of ter plus vindo a followed by the infinitive of the main verb (agravar). It is the exact equivalent of the English present perfect continuous ('has been worsening').

Why is there a -se attached to agravar?

The base verb agravar is transitive and means 'to make something worse' or 'to aggravate'. To express that the crisis itself is getting worse, without specifying who or what is making it worse, you must use the reflexive form agravar-se.

Could the pronoun -se be placed earlier in the sentence, such as tem-se vindo a agravar?

Yes! In European Portuguese complex verb phrases like this one, the pronoun can attach to the first auxiliary verb (tem-se vindo a agravar) or to the final infinitive (tem vindo a agravar-se). Both are grammatically correct and natural. Just avoid placing it before the infinitive (a se agravar), which is common in Brazil but incorrect in Portugal.

Can I translate 'more and more' literally as mais e mais?

You should avoid it. While mais e mais exists, cada vez mais (literally 'each time more') is the fixed, highly natural Portuguese expression for 'more and more' or 'increasingly' when talking about something changing over time.