Question 1

How do we know se means 'each other' here and not 'themselves'?

Accepted Answer

Context! Reflexive pronouns like se can mean 'themselves' (reflexive) or 'each other' (reciprocal). While they could technically be hugging themselves, 'meeting and hugging each other' is the natural meaning here. If you ever need to be absolutely clear that it is reciprocal, you could add um ao outro (one to the other) at the end, but it is usually obvious from the verbs used.

Question 2

Why is there a hyphen in encontram-se and abraçam-se instead of putting se before the verbs?

Accepted Answer

In European Portuguese, affirmative main clauses generally have the pronoun attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen. Because this sentence is affirmative and doesn't contain any 'magnet words' (like não, já, or que) that would pull the pronoun before the verb, the se stays at the end.

Question 3

Could I just say Eles encontram e abraçam-se and share the pronoun between the two verbs?

Accepted Answer

No, you generally need to attach the pronoun to each verb separately. Encontrar (to find/meet) and abraçar (to hug) both need the reciprocal se to show that the action is happening to each other. Without se, Eles encontram just means 'They find' (meaning they found something else).

Question 4

Why do we use no and da in no meio da rua?

Accepted Answer

Portuguese uses contractions and definite articles (the words for 'the') much more often than English. no is a contraction of em + o (in the), and da is de + a (of the). The phrase translates literally to 'in the middle of the street'.

Eles encontram-se e abraçam-se no meio da rua.

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