Breakdown of O ermitão renuncia a todo o luxo para si mesmo.
para
to / for
todo
all / whole
o luxo
the luxury
mesmo
-self (emphatic)
si
himself / herself / themselves (dative)
o ermitão
the hermit
renunciar a
to renounce
Questions & Answers about O ermitão renuncia a todo o luxo para si mesmo.
Why do we use para si here instead of para ele?
Because the hermit is doing the action for himself. In Portuguese, when the object of a preposition (like para) refers back to the 3rd-person subject of the sentence, we must use the reflexive pronoun si. If you said para ele, it would mean the hermit is renouncing luxury for another man.
What is the purpose of adding mesmo after si?
Mesmo acts as an intensifier, emphasizing that it is for "himself." While para si alone is grammatically sufficient, adding mesmo (or próprio) is extremely common to avoid any ambiguity and add emphasis. Keep in mind that mesmo must agree in gender and number with the subject, so if the subject were female, it would be para si mesma.
Why is there an a in renuncia a todo o luxo?
The verb renunciar (to renounce or give up) strictly requires the preposition a to connect it to the thing being given up. While in English you simply "renounce luxury" directly, in Portuguese you must "renounce to" it.
Why do we say todo o luxo instead of just todo luxo?
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