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Grammar · Pronouns

Refer back without repeating everything.

Pronouns help Portuguese sound natural: eu, tu, o meu, vejo-o, dou-lhe, chamo-me. Learn what each form does and, crucially, where object pronouns go in European Portuguese.

Practise pronouns

Subject pronouns

Who is doing the action?

Portuguese often omits the subject pronoun because the verb ending already identifies the person. Use the pronoun when it adds clarity or emphasis.

euIEu falo português.
tuyou · singular informalTu falas português.
ele / elahe / sheEla fala português.
nósweNós falamos português.
vocêsyou · pluralVocês falam português.
eles / elastheyEles falam português.

Everyday focus: vós exists, but it is not part of this core learning path. For most learners, the forms above are the useful starting point for present-day European Portuguese.

Possessives

The possessive agrees with the thing owned.

In European Portuguese, possessives are normally used with the definite article: o meu livro, a tua casa, os nossos amigos.

eumeu · minhameus · minhas

o meu livro · a minha casa

tuteu · tuateus · tuas

o teu carro · as tuas chaves

ele / elaseu · suaseus · suas

a sua mala · o carro dele

nósnosso · nossanossos · nossas

a nossa casa · os nossos livros

vocês / eles / elasseu · suaseus · suas

os seus bilhetes · a casa deles

Useful clarification: seu/sua can be ambiguous. Forms such as dele, dela, deles, delas often make the owner clearer.

Object pronouns

Direct or indirect?

Ask what the verb needs. A direct object receives the action directly; an indirect object is commonly introduced by a.

Direct object

Who or what?

me · teme · you
o · ahim/it · her/it
nos · vosus · you plural
os · asthem

Vejo o João. → Vejo-o.
Comprei as flores. → Comprei-as.

Indirect object

To whom?

me · teto me · to you
lheto him / her / you
nos · vosto us · to you plural
lhesto them

Dou o livro à Ana. → Dou-lhe o livro.
Escrevo aos meus pais. → Escrevo-lhes.

Placement

European Portuguese moves the pronoun.

Pronoun position is one of the most visible differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese. Start with these two high-value patterns.

Neutral affirmative clauseVejo-o todos os dias.

The object pronoun normally comes after the verb and is joined with a hyphen.

With negationNão o vejo hoje.

Não pulls the pronoun before the verb.

With many trigger wordsQuando me vires, telefona.

Words such as quando, que and certain other structures commonly place the pronoun before the verb.

With an infinitiveQuero ajudá-lo.

Object pronouns can attach to the infinitive. Some forms change spelling, as in ajudar + o → ajudá-lo.

Reflexive pronouns

The action comes back to the subject.

Reflexive verbs use me, te, se, nos, vos, se. The same placement rules still matter.

Chamo-me Ana.My name is Ana.
Ele levanta-se cedo.He gets up early.
Não me lembro.I do not remember.
Ela sente-se bem.She feels well.

Practice path

Build pronouns in eight steps.

  1. 1

    Subject pronouns

    eu · tu · ele/ela · nós · vocês · eles/elas

  2. 2

    Possessives

    meu/minha · teu/tua · nosso/nossa...

  3. 3

    Direct objects

    me · te · o/a · nos · vos · os/as

  4. 4

    Indirect objects

    me · te · lhe · nos · vos · lhes

  5. 5

    Pronoun placement

    Vejo-o · Não o vejo

  6. 6

    Reflexive pronouns

    chamo-me · sente-se · não me lembro

  7. 7

    Pronouns in context

    Identify the pronoun's job in the sentence.

  8. 8

    Mixed challenge

    All the patterns together.