Pronoun Placement in Portuguese

In Brief

Portuguese unstressed object pronouns can appear before the verb (não o vi), after it (vi-o), or, in formal writing, inside a future or conditional form (vê-lo-ei). Certain words—especially negatives, question words, and elements that introduce subordinate clauses—attract the pronoun before the verb. Actual usage differs sharply between Brazilian and European Portuguese, so both grammar and register matter.

Overview

Pronouns such as me, te, se, o, a, lhe, nos and vos can stand for an object: the person or thing affected by an action. Unlike English object pronouns, they do not always occupy one fixed position. Their position in relation to the verb is called colocação pronominal.

The three traditional patterns are próclise (the pronoun comes before the verb), ênclise (it follows the verb and is joined with a hyphen), and mesóclise (it is inserted inside a future or conditional verb form). At B2, the main task is not merely to recognise these names. You need to notice the grammatical “attractors” that require próclise, while also choosing a form suitable for Brazilian or European speech and for informal or formal writing.

English offers little guidance here: “I did not see him” and “Who told you?” both put him/you after the verb. Portuguese instead places the unstressed pronoun before the verb in Não o vi and Quem te disse?. Learning the trigger as part of the whole phrase is therefore more reliable than translating word by word.

How It Works

The three positions

Position	Structure	Example	Typical use
Próclise	pronoun + verb	Não me diga.	After an attracting word
Ênclise	verb-pronoun	Diga-me a verdade.	No attractor; especially European Portuguese and formal writing
Mesóclise	future stem-pronoun-ending	Dir-lhe-ei amanhã.	Formal future or conditional with no attractor

Only unstressed pronouns take these positions. Stressed forms after a preposition, such as para mim, com ele and de nós, follow ordinary preposition patterns instead.

Próclise: before the verb

Use próclise when an attracting element belongs closely with the verb. The most important triggers are:

Trigger	Example	Meaning
Negation: não, nunca, ninguém, nada	Nunca me responderam.	They never answered me.
Question word: quem, quando, por que, como	Quem te chamou?	Who called you?
Relative word: que, quem, onde	O livro que me deram é ótimo.	The book they gave me is excellent.
Subordinating conjunction: se, quando, porque, embora…	Se o encontrares, avisa-me.	If you find him, let me know.
Indefinite or focusing expression: alguém, tudo, só…	Alguém me ligou.	Someone called me.
Certain adverbs with no pause	Já lhe expliquei.	I have already explained it to him/her.
Exclamative or wish construction	Como me ajudaste!	How you helped me!

Punctuation and meaning can affect an adverb. When an adverb is set off as a separate comment, the attraction may disappear in formal usage: Ontem, entregaram-me os documentos. Without a pause, Ontem me entregaram os documentos is natural, especially in Brazil.

In a subordinate clause (a clause that depends on another part of the sentence), the pronoun normally precedes the verb: Espero que me compreendas. The word que introduces the dependent clause and attracts me.

Ênclise: after the verb

With no attracting word, traditional written grammar uses ênclise, particularly when the verb begins a clause:

• Contaram-me tudo. — “They told me everything.”
• Entregue-lhe o formulário. — “Give him/her the form.”
• Sentou-se perto da janela. — “He/She sat near the window.”

Ênclise is also standard with an affirmative imperative (a positive command): Ajuda-me! or Ajudem-nos! A negative command contains não, so it takes próclise: Não me ajudes! or Não nos interrompam!

Non-finite verb forms—forms not marked for a person—often permit or favour ênclise: É melhor dizer-lhe a verdade and Saiu despedindo-se de todos. However, variation is considerable, especially with infinitives and in Brazilian Portuguese.

A pronoun is not attached after a past participle (the form used in compounds such as feito, dito, visto). Say Tinha-me contado or Tinha me contado, depending on the variety and register, not tinha contado-me.

Mesóclise: inside the verb

Mesóclise is possible with the synthetic future and conditional—the one-word forms such as darei “I will give” and daria “I would give”—when there is no próclisis trigger:

Basic verb	With pronoun	Meaning
darei	dar-te-ei	I will give you
contaria	contar-lhe-ia	I would tell him/her
faremos	fá-lo-emos	we will do it

Historically and structurally, the pronoun sits between the infinitive-like stem and the future or conditional ending. If a trigger appears, mesóclise gives way to próclise: Não te darei o livro and Quem lhe diria isso?, not não dar-te-ei or quem dir-lhe-ia.

Mesóclise is grammatically important but stylistically restricted today. It occurs in highly formal European and Brazilian writing, ceremonial language, legal prose, and deliberately elevated style. Everyday speakers usually avoid it by using próclise where their variety permits it or by rephrasing, for example Vou lhe dizer in Brazil or Vou dizer-lhe in Portugal.

Spelling changes with ênclise and mesóclise

The direct-object pronouns o, a, os, as change shape after some verb endings:

Verb ending	Change	Example
-r, -s, -z	Drop the final consonant; use -lo/-la/-los/-las	fazer + o → fazê-lo; diz + a → di-la
Nasal sound (-m, -ão, -õe)	Use -no/-na/-nos/-nas	fazem + o → fazem-no; põe + a → põe-na
Other endings	Keep o/a/os/as	vi + o → vi-o; comprou + a → comprou-a

Written accents may be added to preserve the original stress: conhecer → conhecê-lo, dar → dá-lo. These are spelling consequences of attaching the pronoun, not new verb tenses.

Examples in Context

Portuguese	English	Note
Não o vi ontem.	I did not see him yesterday.	Negation requires próclise.
Quem te disse isso?	Who told you that?	A question word attracts te.
A colega que me ajudou mora aqui.	The colleague who helped me lives here.	Relative que triggers próclise.
Quando nos telefonarem, já saberemos.	When they call us, we will already know.	Subordinating quando attracts nos.
Alguém lhe explicou o problema?	Did someone explain the problem to him/her?	Indefinite alguém favours próclise.
Já me enviaram a confirmação.	They have already sent me the confirmation.	The adverb já attracts the pronoun.
Dou-te o livro amanhã.	I will give you the book tomorrow.	Ênclise with no attractor; especially natural in Portugal.
Feche-se a porta, por favor.	Please close the door.	Formal command-like construction with ênclise.
Diz-me o que aconteceu.	Tell me what happened.	Affirmative imperative with ênclise.
Não me digas isso.	Do not tell me that.	Negative imperative changes to próclise.
É difícil compreendê-lo.	It is difficult to understand him/it.	Infinitive plus -lo; final r disappears.
Dar-te-ei uma resposta amanhã.	I will give you an answer tomorrow.	Formal mesóclise in the future.
Dir-lhe-íamos a verdade, se pudéssemos.	We would tell him/her the truth if we could.	Formal mesóclise in the conditional.
Nunca lhe diríamos uma coisa dessas.	We would never tell him/her such a thing.	Nunca forces próclise, blocking mesóclise.
Ela tinha-me avisado.	She had warned me.	Pronoun before the auxiliary; not after the participle.

Common Mistakes

Putting the pronoun after a verb despite a negative

• Wrong: Não vi-o ontem.
• Right: Não o vi ontem.
• Why: Não attracts the unstressed pronoun, so próclise is required.

Copying English object order into questions

• Wrong: Quem disse-te isso?
• Right: Quem te disse isso?
• Why: Interrogative words such as quem and quando trigger próclise. English “Who told you?” does not show this shift.

Using ênclise after a past participle

• Wrong: Tinham contado-me a história.
• Right: Tinham-me contado a história.
• Also common in Brazil: Tinham me contado a história.
• Why: An unstressed pronoun does not attach to the past participle in a compound tense.

Forgetting the spelling change with o/a

• Wrong: Quero fazer-o hoje.
• Right: Quero fazê-lo hoje.
• Why: After an infinitive ending in -r, the r drops and o becomes lo; the accent preserves the stress.

Using mesóclise after an attractor

• Wrong: Não dar-te-ei o livro.
• Right: Não te darei o livro.
• Why: The negative requires próclise and therefore blocks mesóclise.

Treating one regional pattern as universal

• Potential mismatch: Me disseram que a loja fechou.
• Formal European norm: Disseram-me que a loja fechou.
• Why: Sentence-initial me is ordinary in informal Brazilian Portuguese but is not the neutral standard in European Portuguese. Match the variety and context you are using.

Usage Notes

Brazilian Portuguese

In everyday Brazilian speech, próclise is far more widespread than the traditional rules alone suggest. Sentences such as Me liga amanhã, Ela me contou and Eu te vi are completely normal in conversation. A personal subject before the verb strongly supports this pattern. Sentence-initial object pronouns are also common in speech and informal writing, although formal editing may replace them with ênclise or restructure the sentence.

Brazilian speech often places the pronoun before the main verb in a verb phrase: Vou te contar and Tinha me esquecido. Formal written standards may prefer other placements in some contexts. Mesóclise is rare outside legal, administrative, ceremonial, or humorous language.

European Portuguese

European Portuguese uses ênclise much more actively in neutral speech when there is no trigger: Vi-o ontem, Ela contou-me tudo, Vou dizer-lhe. Próclise remains obligatory with clear triggers: Não o vi, Ela disse que me ajudava. Mesóclise is still marked and formal, though readers are likely to encounter it in carefully written texts.

This means that both Ela me contou and Ela contou-me can be good Portuguese, but they do not have the same regional profile. If your main goal is Portugal, practise identifying triggers and defaulting to ênclise elsewhere. If your main goal is Brazil, learn the formal rules for reading and edited writing while also learning the broad spoken use of próclise.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Pronoun placement in multi-verb constructions

With an auxiliary or modal plus an infinitive or gerund, more than one position may be possible, and the preferred choice depends on variety and register:

• Quero dizer-lhe a verdade. — widespread formal option
• Quero-lhe dizer a verdade. — possible, especially in European Portuguese
• Quero lhe dizer a verdade. — common in Brazil, often written without a hyphen before the infinitive
• Não lhe quero dizer a verdade. — the negative attracts the pronoun before the finite verb, especially in European usage
• Não quero lhe dizer a verdade. — common Brazilian placement before the infinitive

Rather than assuming all variants are interchangeable everywhere, observe which verb the pronoun belongs to and which regional standard the text follows.

Two pronouns together

Portuguese can combine an indirect-object pronoun (the recipient, roughly “to someone”) with a direct-object pronoun (the thing affected). Traditional combinations include mo, ma, mos, mas (me + o/a/os/as), to/ta/tos/tas, and lho/lha/lhos/lhas:

• Deram-mo ontem. — “They gave it to me yesterday.”
• Não lho contei. — “I did not tell it to him/her.”

These compact forms are more productive in European Portuguese and in formal language. Brazilian Portuguese often rephrases them: Deram isso para mim or Não contei isso para ele/ela. Recognising the combined forms is more important than forcing them into casual Brazilian conversation.

Personal infinitives and pronouns

An infinitive can carry a personal ending in Portuguese: para fazermos (“for us to do”). An attracting word may place the pronoun before it: para nos ajudarem (“for them to help us”). With an uninflected infinitive, ênclise is common and can remain possible even near some triggers: para ajudar-nos. Actual choice again reflects syntax, rhythm, region, and formality; the simple “one trigger, one answer” rule is strongest with finite verbs.

Style, not just correctness

Pronoun placement can deliberately create a formal, old-fashioned, intimate, or regional voice. Dar-te-ei notícias sounds elevated; Vou te avisar sounds natural in Brazil; Vou avisar-te is natural in Portugal. Advanced control means understanding the social effect, not merely producing a grammatically possible sequence.

Practice Tips

1. Mark the trigger first. In each sentence, underline não, quem, que, se, quando, já or another attractor before deciding where the pronoun goes. This prevents English word order from taking over.
2. Build three-way contrasts. Practise sets such as Diz-me, Não me digas, and Dir-me-ás. Saying why the position changes is more useful than memorising isolated sentences.
3. Choose a listening model. Compare a Brazilian interview with a Portuguese one and collect ten real pronoun placements from each. Label them próclise, ênclise, or mesóclise and note whether the context is conversational or formal.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Direct Object Pronouns — review o, a, os, as and what they replace before studying their position.