Breakdown of O monge traz o livro sagrado consigo.
o livro
the book
trazer
to bring
o monge
the monk
sagrado
sacred
Questions & Answers about O monge traz o livro sagrado consigo.
Why do we use consigo here instead of com ele?
Because the monk is bringing the book with himself. Consigo is the 3rd-person reflexive form of 'with'. When the prepositional pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence (o monge), you must use the reflexive consigo. If you used com ele, it would mean the monk is bringing the book with a different person.
I often see consigo used to mean 'with you' (formal). How do we know it means 'with him' here?
In European Portuguese, consigo is frequently used as the formal 'with you' (matching você). However, when the subject of the sentence is a 3rd-person noun like o monge, consigo naturally acts as a true reflexive referring back to that subject. Context tells us the monk is bringing the book with himself, not with you.
Would it be correct to say consigo próprio in this sentence?
What is the difference between using traz and leva in a context like this?