B2 · The passive
The third way: they with no who
« I was told » cannot be built here; « they told me » stands in its place.
Dizem que vai chover means « they say it is going to rain ». Whoever does the dizem is not named and not meant — it is nobody, exactly as in the English sentence.
This is where English loses a construction. English can make the recipient of a verb the subject of a passive: « I was told », « we were given the keys », « she was offered the job ». Portuguese cannot, and neither can any Romance language: there is no way to promote an indirect object. What stands in its place is precisely this form — disseram-me, deram-nos as chaves, ofereceram-lhe o lugar.
So the mapping is worth learning as a pair. Every English « I was told / shown / sent / given » becomes a third person plural with no subject: roubaram-me a mala — « my bag was stolen ». The difference from the se form is register: se belongs on signs and in instructions, the bare plural belongs in telling what happened.
A subject pronoun must never appear here. The moment eles stands in front, particular people are meant and the construction is a different one.
Die Form
| they say it is going to rain | dizem que vai chover |
| my bag was stolen | roubaram-me a mala |
| somebody knocked | bateram à porta |
| somebody rang for you | telefonaram para ti |
| they call it the boat | chamam-lhe o barco |
| a hotel was built here | construíram aqui um hotel |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
A plural with no subject means nobody.
Bateram à porta há um minuto.Somebody knocked a minute ago.
No eles in front, or particular people are meant.
Roubaram-me a bicicleta.My bicycle was stolen.
For instructions, se is used.
Não se fuma nesta sala.No smoking in this room.
For a single event, the bare plural is used.
Telefonaram para ti esta manhã.Somebody rang for you this morning.
Woran man es erkennt
- dizem que
- roubaram
- bateram
- chamam
Beispielsätze
Dizem que o comboio está atrasado.They say the train is delayed.
Roubaram-me a carteira no autocarro.My wallet was stolen on the bus.
Construíram um hotel onde estava a escola.A hotel was built where the school used to be.
Bateram à porta, mas não estava ninguém.Somebody knocked, but there was nobody there.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
As soon as eles stands in front, the construction is broken: eles roubaram-me a mala means « they stole my bag » about particular people you have in mind. The whole point of this form is that nobody is standing there — which is also why it is the right answer to « I was told ».
With no subject it means nobody, with eles it means those people.
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