Breakdown of Nesta cultura, come-se muitíssimo bem.
muito
much / very
bem
well / fine
em
in / on / at
comer
to eat
este
this (este, esta, estes, estas)
se
himself / herself / themselves
a cultura
the culture
Questions & Answers about Nesta cultura, come-se muitíssimo bem.
Why do we use come-se here instead of just saying as pessoas comem?
Come-se uses the impersonal se construction. It is a very natural way in Portuguese to talk about what one, you (in general), or people do. You form it using the he/she/it (third-person singular) form of the verb plus -se. Saying as pessoas comem is grammatically correct, but come-se is much more common and natural for general statements like this.
Why is there a hyphen in come-se? Could the se go before the verb?
In European Portuguese, pronouns attach to the end of the verb with a hyphen in simple positive sentences. However, certain trigger words like não (not) or já (already) pull the pronoun to the front of the verb. For example, if this sentence were negative, the pronoun would move and drop the hyphen, becoming não se come.
What does the -íssimo ending do in the word muitíssimo?
It makes the word much stronger! This is called an absolute superlative. When you add -íssimo to the end of an adjective or adverb, it takes it to the extreme. Here, muito means very or a lot, and muitíssimo takes it a step further to mean extremely or very, very much.
I remember neste means in this. Why is it nesta here?
Nesta is a combination of the preposition em (in) and the word for this (esta). Because the word cultura is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine form esta. When combined, they merge into nesta. You would only use neste if the noun were masculine.
Learn Nesta cultura, come-se muitíssimo bem and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free