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Verbs that change state without 'se': 'melhorar', 'aumentar', 'ferver' and more

Many Portuguese verbs that describe a change of state work in two ways with the same form. You can use them with an object, when someone causes the change (ferver o leite, to boil the milk), or without an object, when the thing simply changes (o leite ferveu, the milk boiled). In the second use there is usually no se. Typical members are melhorar, aumentar, diminuir, ferver and começar.

English works the same way (boil, improve, increase), so why is this tricky? Once learners discover reflexive verbs like levantar-se or sentar-se, they start adding se to every verb where nobody does the action on purpose. That leads to mistakes like os preços se aumentaram. This article lists the verbs where plain forms are the normal choice.

Word list
abrirA1 to open abrir a garrafa = to open the bottle começarA1 to begin o filme começa = the film starts cozinharA1 to cook o arroz cozinhou = the rice cooked fecharA1 to close fechar a janela = to close the window abrirA2 to open a loja abre às nove = the shop opens at nine acabarA2 to end acabar o jantar = to finish dinner acabarA2 to come to an end a aula acabou = the class is over acordarA2 to wake up acordei cedo = I woke up early (no se) acordarA2 to awaken acordar o bebê = to wake the baby assarA2 to bake o bolo está assando = the cake is baking começarA2 to begin começar a reunião = to start the meeting encherA2 to fill a sala encheu = the room filled up melhorarA2 to improve melhorar o texto = to improve the text mudarA2 to change a cidade mudou = the city changed mudarA2 to change mudar o plano = to change the plan quebrarA2 to break o copo quebrou = the glass broke secarA2 to dry a roupa secou = the clothes dried terminarA2 to end terminar o trabalho = to finish the work terminarA2 to come to an end o filme termina às dez = the film ends at ten acenderB1 to light o fogão não acende = the stove won't light acenderB1 to turn on a luz acendeu = the light came on adormecerB1 to fall asleep adormeci no sofá = I fell asleep on the sofa apagarB1 to turn off a luz apagou = the light went out aquecerB1 to warm up a sopa aqueceu = the soup warmed up assarB1 to roast o frango assou = the chicken roasted aumentarB1 to increase os preços aumentaram = the prices increased (not se aumentaram) aumentarB1 to increase aumentar o volume = to turn up the volume congelarB1 to freeze o lago congelou = the lake froze (EP also congelou-se) continuarB1 to continue a reunião continuou = the meeting went on derramarB1 to spill o café derramou = the coffee spilled (EP often derramou-se) desligarB1 to turn off o computador desligou = the computer switched off despertarB1 to wake up despertei às seis = I woke at six (formal, no se) diminuirB1 to decrease diminuir a velocidade = to slow down dispararB1 to shoot a arma disparou = the gun went off encerrarB1 to close a loja encerra às 18h = the shop closes at 18h (EP) esquentarB1 to warm up esquentar a comida = to warm up the food (mainly BR) esvaziarB1 to empty o pneu esvaziou = the tyre went flat explodirB1 to explode a bomba explodiu = the bomb exploded fecharB1 to close a porta fechou = the door closed (EP often fechou-se) ferverB1 to boil a água ferve = the water boils ferverB1 to boil ferver o leite = to boil the milk fritarB1 to fry as batatas estão fritando = the potatoes are frying gelarB1 to freeze a água gelou = the water froze ligarB1 to turn on o carro não liga = the car won't start melhorarB1 to improve o tempo melhorou = the weather improved pararB1 to stop parar o carro = to stop the car pararB1 to stop o carro parou = the car stopped queimarB1 to burn a madeira queima = the wood burns queimarB1 to burn queimar o papel = to burn the paper rasgarB1 to tear a calça rasgou = the trousers tore (EP often rasgou-se) afrouxarB2 to loosen o nó afrouxou = the knot loosened afundarB2 to sink afundar o barco = to sink the boat afundarB2 to sink o navio afundou = the ship sank (EP also afundou-se) alagarB2 to flood a rua alagou = the street flooded (mainly BR) arrefecerB2 to get cold o café arrefeceu = the coffee got cold (mainly PT) atualizarB2 to update o app atualizou sozinho = the app updated by itself avariarB2 to break down o carro avariou = the car broke down (mainly PT) baterB2 to slam a porta bateu = the door slammed cicatrizarB2 to heal o corte cicatrizou = the cut healed clarearB2 to clear up o céu clareou = the sky cleared congelarB2 to freeze congelar a carne = to freeze the meat desanimarB2 to discourage não desanime = don't lose heart desbotarB2 to fade a camisa desbotou = the shirt faded (no se) diminuirB2 to decrease a dor diminuiu = the pain eased emagrecerB2 to lose weight emagreci = I lost weight empalidecerB2 to pale ela empalideceu = she turned pale (no se) engordarB2 to gain weight engordei = I put on weight enlouquecerB2 to go crazy ele enlouqueceu = he went mad envelhecerB2 to get old ele envelheceu = he got old esfriarB2 to get cold o café esfriou = the coffee got cold (mainly BR) estourarB2 to burst o balão estourou = the balloon burst estragarB2 to spoil a comida estragou = the food went bad (EP often estragou-se) inundarB2 to flood a cave inundou = the basement flooded (also ficou inundada) limparB2 to clear up o tempo limpou = the weather cleared up piorarB2 to worsen a situação piorou = the situation got worse piorarB2 to worsen piorar as coisas = to make things worse prosseguirB2 to continue a reunião prosseguiu = the meeting carried on quebrarB2 to break down o carro quebrou = the car broke down (BR) rebentarB2 to burst o balão rebentou = the balloon burst (common in PT) reiniciarB2 to restart o computador reiniciou = the computer restarted sararB2 to heal a ferida sarou = the wound healed tostarB2 to toast o pão tostou = the bread toasted acelerarC1 to accelerate o ritmo acelerou = the pace sped up apodrecerC1 to rot a fruta apodreceu = the fruit rotted embranquecerC1 to whiten o cabelo embranqueceu = the hair went white encherC1 to inflate a sala encheu = the room filled up enguiçarC1 to break down a máquina enguiçou = the machine broke down (BR) esgotarC1 to exhaust os bilhetes esgotaram = the tickets sold out (EP also esgotaram-se) estagnarC1 to stagnate a economia estagnou = the economy stagnated evaporarC1 to evaporate a água evaporou = the water evaporated falirC1 to go bankrupt a empresa faliu = the company went bankrupt (no se) incharC1 to swell up o tornozelo inchou = the ankle swelled up inflarC1 to inflate o balão inflou = the balloon inflated emborcarC2 to capsize a canoa emborcou = the canoe capsized (BR) virarC2 to capsize o barco virou = the boat capsized
How it works

Ask yourself one question: is someone causing the change, or is the change just happening? If someone causes it, use the verb with a direct object. If it just happens, use the same verb with the thing that changes as the subject. You do not need to add anything.

Vou ferver o leite para o café.
(I'm going to boil the milk for the coffee.)
A água ferveu e o tempo melhorou.
(The water boiled and the weather improved.)

The rule of thumb for these verbs: if English says it boiled, it got better or it went up without itself, Portuguese normally has no se either.

The words
Going up and down, better and worse

Use aumentar, diminuir, melhorar and piorar for prices, pain, the weather or a situation. With an object, they mean to raise, lower, improve or worsen something: aumentar o volume, diminuir a velocidade, melhorar o texto. The same goes for engordar (to put on weight, or to be fattening) and inchar (to swell).

Os preços aumentaram muito este ano.
(Prices went up a lot this year.)
A dor diminuiu, mas depois a situação piorou.
(The pain eased, but then the situation got worse.)
Temperature and physical changes

Ferver, congelar, evaporar, queimar and secar belong here, along with esfriar (more Brazilian) or arrefecer (more European) for getting cold, and aquecer or esquentar for warming up. Estourar and rebentar (to burst) and afundar (to sink) work the same way.

O lago congelou durante a noite.
(The lake froze overnight.)
O navio afundou perto da costa.
(The ship sank near the coast.)
Starting, stopping and ending

Começar, terminar, acabar and parar can take an object (começar a reunião, parar o carro) or none. Acordar works the same way: acordei is I woke up, and acordar o bebê is to wake the baby. Abrir and fechar also belong here, especially for shops and opening hours.

O filme começa às oito e termina às dez.
(The film starts at eight and ends at ten.)
Eu acordei cedo, mas o barulho acordou o bebê.
(I woke up early, but the noise woke the baby.)
O carro parou no semáforo.
(The car stopped at the traffic light.)
A farmácia abre às nove.
(The pharmacy opens at nine.)
Change itself

Mudar means to change something (mudar o plano) or to become different.

A cidade mudou muito.
(The city has changed a lot.)
Watch out

The typical mistake is adding se where it does not belong: say o tempo melhorou, not o tempo se melhorou. However, se is not always wrong. Here are the main exceptions:

  • Mudar-se means to move house. It is a different meaning, not just a style choice.
  • Queimar-se means to burn yourself. It is a true reflexive: queimei-me in Portugal, me queimei in Brazil.
  • Some physical changes can take an optional se, which is especially common in European Portuguese. Examples are a porta fechou-se, o lago congelou-se, o barco afundou-se and a comida estragou-se. Brazilians usually drop it. Estragar (for food going bad) follows the same pattern.
A porta fechou com o vento.
(The door closed in the wind.)

If you are unsure, the form without se is safe for every verb in this article, except when you mean moving house or hurting yourself.

Summary

When something simply changes (prices rise, water boils, the film starts, the pain eases), use the plain verb with the changing thing as subject, and do not add se. When someone causes the change, use the same verb with an object. Keep se for real changes in meaning, such as mudar-se (to move house) and queimar-se (to burn yourself), and for the optional European uses like a porta fechou-se.