Breakdown of A água transbordou, a torradeira estragou-se-nos e eu atirei o esfregão ao chão.
eu
I
e
and
a água
the water
a
to / at (direction)
nos
us
se
himself / herself / themselves
o chão
the floor
atirar
to throw
estragar
to ruin (to spoil, damage)
transbordar
to overflow
a torradeira
the toaster
o esfregão
the scouring pad
Questions & Answers about A água transbordou, a torradeira estragou-se-nos e eu atirei o esfregão ao chão.
What exactly does estragou-se-nos mean, and why are there two pronouns?
This uses the "accidental reflexive" structure. The verb estragar means "to ruin" or "to damage". Adding se makes it happen on its own: estragou-se (it broke). Adding the indirect object pronoun nos (us) shows who was negatively affected by this accident. Literally, it translates to "it broke itself on us".
Why is the pronoun order se-nos and not nos-se?
When combining the impersonal or reflexive pronoun se with an indirect object pronoun (like me, te, lhe, nos, lhes), the se always comes first. Because this is an affirmative main clause, European Portuguese rules dictate that the pronouns follow the verb, joined by hyphens: estragou-se-nos.
Could I just say a nossa torradeira estragou-se instead?
Yes, both are grammatically correct and mean the toaster broke. However, using the "accidental reflexive" (estragou-se-nos) is extremely common in Portuguese. It shifts the focus away from possession (nossa) and emphasizes that you were the victim of an unexpected, frustrating mishap.
Why use ao chão instead of no chão when throwing the scouring pad?
The verb atirar (to throw) involves motion toward a destination, so it requires the preposition a (to). Combined with the masculine article o, it becomes ao. If you used no (em + o), it would imply the entire action was contained within the floor, rather than the floor being the target of the throw.
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