Os Pronomes Pessoais

Portuguese personal pronouns are organised into five categories:

1. Subject (who does the action)
2. Direct object (who or what receives the action)
3. Indirect object (to whom)
4. Prepositional (used after prepositions)
5. Reflexive (the doer acts on themselves)

Plus the famous Portuguese feature: the position of object pronouns shifts depending on context. They can sit after the verb (enclisis), before the verb (proclisis), or inside the verb (mesoclisis, in formal future/conditional).

Mastering pronouns is a major rite of passage. The first weeks feel mechanical; after a few months they become reflex.

Subject pronouns

The tu / você split

This is the biggest regional difference in Portuguese.

• European Portuguese: tu is informal “you” (friends, kids, family). Você is formal “you” (a stranger, your boss, a customer). Tu takes its own conjugation: tu falas.

• Brazilian Portuguese: você is the standard “you” for everyone — friend, stranger, customer alike. Tu exists in some regions (north and south Brazil) but conjugates with the você form: tu fala (instead of EP tu falas).

The result: a Brazilian and a Portuguese will use the same pronoun você but mean slightly different social distances by it.

Subject pronouns are often omitted in Portuguese because the verb ending already shows the subject:

Falo português. — (I) speak Portuguese. (eu is implicit)

You include the subject pronoun for emphasis, contrast, or clarity:

Eu falo português, ela fala francês. — I speak Portuguese, she speaks French.

Object pronouns

Direct object

The object that receives the verb’s action.

Eu vi-o ontem. — I saw him yesterday. Ela ama-me. — She loves me.

Indirect object

The recipient of the action (to whom).

Dei-lhe um livro. — I gave him a book. Vou dizer-lhes a verdade. — I’m going to tell them the truth.

Note: me, te, nos are the same for direct and indirect. Only third person uses different forms (o/a direct, lhe indirect).

Pronoun position — the heart of Portuguese

In Portuguese, object pronouns can go in three places:

1. Enclisis (after the verb, attached with hyphen)

Default position in declarative affirmative sentences (EP).

Vejo-te. — I see you. Disse-lhe a verdade. — I told him the truth.

2. Proclisis (before the verb)

Triggered by certain words. In EP, the pronoun jumps to BEFORE the verb when one of these appears:

• Negatives: não, nunca, nada, ninguém, jamais
• Subordinating conjunctions: que, quando, se, porque, como
• Interrogatives: quem, o que, quando, como, porque
• Some adverbs: já, ainda, sempre, talvez, também

Examples:

Não te vi. — I didn’t see you. (negative triggers proclisis) Quando me ligas? — When will you call me? (interrogative + subordinate) Sei que me amas. — I know you love me. (que triggers) Já te disse. — I already told you. (já triggers)

3. Mesoclisis (inside the verb — formal future/conditional)

Used only in formal writing, with the future or conditional tenses.

Dir-lhe-ei a verdade. — I will tell him the truth. Comprá-lo-ia se pudesse. — I would buy it if I could.

You will see this in literature, legal writing, and formal speech. In everyday speech and writing you’ll use periphrastic forms instead (Vou dizer-lhe instead of Dir-lhe-ei).

Brazilian vs European position

Brazilian Portuguese strongly prefers proclisis even in declarative sentences:

EP: Vejo-te. BP: Te vejo. (or, in writing, Vejo você — replacing the pronoun with the full name).

BP also often replaces the direct object pronoun o/a with ele/ela in conversation:

EP: Eu vi-o. BP: Eu vi ele.

In formal BP writing the EP rule still applies but in casual speech and writing it differs significantly.

Prepositional pronouns (used after prepositions)

After para, de, com, em, por, etc., use this set:

Para mim, é importante. — For me, it is important. Vou contigo. — I’m going with you. (com + tigo → contigo)

Special “com” forms

When com (with) meets the prepositional pronouns, fusion happens:

| com + mim | comigo | with me | | com + ti | contigo | with you | | com + nós | connosco (EP) / conosco (BP) | with us |

Vais comigo? — Are you coming with me?

Reflexive pronouns

Used when the subject and object are the same person.

Chamo-me João. — My name is João. (literally: I call myself João) Levanta-te. — Stand up. Conhecemo-nos há anos. — We’ve known each other for years.

Euphonic adjustments — when pronouns attach

When the direct object pronoun o/a/os/as attaches to certain verb endings, it changes form for sound:

• Verbs ending in -s: drop the -s, pronoun becomes -lo/-la
  • vimos + o → vimo-lo
• Verbs ending in -r or -z (or -s in some cases): drop the consonant, pronoun becomes -lo/-la
  • ver + o → vê-lo (with circumflex)
  • fiz + o → fi-lo
• Verbs ending in nasal sounds (-m / -ão / -õe): pronoun becomes -no/-na
  • amam + o → amam-no
  • dão + o → dão-no

These look strange at first but become natural.

What you don’t need to do

You don’t need to use mesoclisis in conversation. It’s formal-only and rare.

You don’t need to include the subject pronoun every time. Verb endings show who’s speaking.

You don’t need to use tu in Brazilian Portuguese. Você is standard.

You don’t need to memorise every euphonic rule by formula — they become natural after a few weeks of reading.

Common confusions

• Position changes with negatives. Vi-o (enclitic, affirmative) vs. Não o vi (proclitic, negative).
• EP and BP position differ. EP defaults to enclisis; BP defaults to proclisis. Both correct in their varieties.
• Me, te, nos are the same for direct and indirect. Only third person uses o/a vs lhe.
• Con + pronoun fuses. Comigo, contigo, connosco, not com mim, com ti, com nós.
• Euphonic forms are mandatory. Vejo-o becomes vejo-o (no change in this case), but vimos + o → vimo-lo. Pay attention to the verb’s final sound.

Where you’ll meet it in the library

Every Portuguese paragraph uses personal pronouns:

• Pinóquio (A1+) — Storica’s adaptation introduces enclitic position and basic pronouns in declarative sentences. Perfect first encounter with disse-me, levou-o, falou-lhe.
• O Retrato de Dorian Gray (B2+) — Wilde’s Portuguese rendering shifts between enclitic and proclitic constantly, with reflexives and prepositional forms (sinto-me, conhecemo-nos, para mim).
• O Estrangeiro (B1+) — Camus’s flat first-person voice in Portuguese uses pronouns sparingly but precisely. Every chamou-me, disse-lhe, sou eu counts emotionally.