The pronouns of the Portuguese language have flexions according to their number and, in case of some third person forms, also according to their gender.
Personal Pronouns
Default forms
| number | person | subject | object of verb | object of preposition |
| singular | 1st. | eu | me | mim |
| 2nd. | tu | te | ti | |
| 3rd. | ele, ela, você | o, a1; lhe2; se3 | ele, ela, você; si3 | |
| plural | 1st. | nós | nos | nós |
| 2nd. | vós | vos | vós | |
| 3rd. | eles, elas, vocês | os, as1; lhes2; se3 | eles, elas, vocês; si3 |
1 direct object 2 indirect object 3 reflexive or reciprocal
Clitic pronouns
The pronouns labelled "object of verb" above are clitics. They may appear before a verb (proclisis, não lhe digo), after a verb, linked to it with a hyphen (enclisis, digo-lhe), or (more rarely) inside the verb, between its root and its ending (mesoclisis, dir-lhe-ei).
Variants of the direct object pronouns
Third person direct object clitic pronouns have several forms, depending on their position with relation to the verb and on the verb's ending. If the pronoun is enclitic and the verb ends with a consonant, or if the pronoun is mesoclitic and the root of the verb ends with a consonant, then that consonant is elided, and an l is added at the beginning of the pronoun. If the pronoun is enclitic and the verb ends with a nasal diphthong (spelled -ão, -am, -em, -ém, -õe, or -õem), an n is added at the beginning of the pronoun. The same happens after other clitic pronouns, and after the adverbial particle eis.
| default | after a consonant | after a nasal diphthong |
| o | lo | no |
| a | la | na |
| os | los | nos |
| as | las | nas |
- The third person forms o, a, os, and as may present the variants lo, la, los, las, no, na, nos, and nas.
- Lo, la, los, and las are used after verbal forms ending with a consonant, which is elided. Examples: seduz + a = sedu-la, faz + o = fá-lo, diz + o = di-lo, destróis + os = destrói-los (different from destrói-os, in which the verb is conjugated in the imperative mood), comes + a = come-la (different from come-a), apanha-las (apanhas + as), amá-lo (amar +o), fazê-lo (fazer + o), partire-lo (partires +o), tem-la (tens + a, notice how the n changes into an m).
- This also occurs when the pronoun is in mesoclitic position: matá-lo-ás (matarás + o), fá-lo-ias (farias + o), feri-lo-ias (ferir + o), comê-lo-ias (comer + o).
- The pronouns o, etc. present the same forms when they follow other clitic pronouns, such as nos and vos, or the adverbial particle eis. Examples: comeram-no-lo (comeram + nos + o), "Não vo-lo [vos + o] quero dar a entender."
- The variants no, na, nos and nas are used after a verbal form ending with a nasal diphthong. Examples: põe-no (põe + o), tem-na (tem + a), comeram-nos (ambiguous, may either mean comeram + nos "they ate us", or comeram + os "they ate them").
- The third person forms o, a, os, and as (and variants) are not normally used in colloquial Brazilian Portuguese; instead, they are omitted, or the subject pronouns are used after the verb.
Contracted Forms
With the prepositions de and em
The following 3rd. person pronouns contract with the prepositions de "of/from" and em "in/on".
| personal pronoun | contracted with de | contracted with em |
| ele | dele | nele |
| ela | dela | nela |
| eles | deles | neles |
| elas | delas | nelas |
With the preposition com
The following prepositional pronouns contract with the preposition com "with" (circumstantial complement).
| number | person | personal pronoun | contracted form |
| singular | 1st. | mim | comigo |
| 2nd. | ti | contigo | |
| 3rd. | si | consigo | |
| plural | 1st. | nós | con(n)osco |
| 2nd. | vós | convosco | |
| 3rd. | si | consigo |
The form connosco is used in European Portuguese, while conosco is used in Brazilian Portuguese.
- The forms mim, ti and si are always preceded by a preposition.
- The forms migo, tigo, sigo, nosco, and vosco are never isolated and always agglutinated with the preposition com, forming comigo, contigo, consigo, connosco (conosco in BP), and convosco. They are derived from the Latin practice of tacking cum ("with") on the end of the ablative form of a pronoun, as in mecum or vobiscum; in Portuguese (and Spanish), this final cum got corrupted to -go and a second com was added to the front in an instance of redundancy.
- The forms mim, ti, and si cannot be used when preceded by prepositions denoting exception. This includes: afora, fora, excepto, menos, salvo, and tirante. In those cases, the subject pronouns eu, tu, ele, ela, eles and elas are used. Examples: "Todos foram ao cinema excepto eu/tu", "Ele referiu toda a gente excepto ele mesmo." (not "Ele referiu toda a gente excepto si").
With 3rd. person pronouns
| o | a | os | as | |
| me | mo | ma | mos | mas |
| te | to | ta | tos | tas |
| lhe | lho | lha | lhos | lhas |
| nos | no-lo | no-la | no-los | no-las |
| vos | vo-lo | vo-la | vo-los | vo-las |
| lhes | lho | lha | lhos | lhas |
Notice how lhes+o is contracted into lho, not lhe-lo or lhos. This occurs because lhe used to be employed indistinctly for the singular and the plural and, while the agglutinated form suffered no alteration, lhe evolved into lhes for the plural number.
These forms are never used in Brazil.
Usage
Prepositioned direct object
In some cases, the direct object pronoun may take a preposition before it. For this article, it is relevant because the pronouns listed under the column "object of preposition" may actually be used as direct objects in these constructions, normally used together with the clitic pronoun, for emphasis (clitic doubling). Example: "Nunca to disse a ti porque nunca mereceste a minha confiança", "Sempre te tratei a ti como o tratei a ele", "Eles repreenderam-se a si mesmos" (here need to clear an ambiguity).
Reflexive Forms
Reflexive pronouns are used when one wants to express the action is exercised upon the same person that exercises it or refers to such person. Examples:
- EP: "Eu vi-me ao espelho." BP: "Eu me vi no espelho."
- "Não te levas muito a sério."
- EP: "De repente, vimo-nos perdidos na floresta." BP: "De repente, nos vimos perdidos na floresta."
In the third person, the reflexive pronoun has a form of its own, se - or si / sigo if preceded by a preposition. Examples:
- EP: "Hoje ele levantou-se cedo." BP: "Hoje ele se levantou cedo."
- EP: "Eles lavam-se sempre muito bem." BP: "Eles se lavam sempre muito bem."
- "O gato sabe cuidar bem de si."
- "Os ladrões levaram consigo tudo o que puderam."
The reflexive pronoun forms, when used in the plural (me and te are therefore excluded), may indicate reciprocity. In those cases, they do not have reflexive character - for instance, "as pessoas cumprimentaram-se" does not mean that each person complimented himself, rather they complimented each other. In some situations, this may create ambiguity; therefore, if one means "they love each other", one might want to say "eles amam-se mutuamente" or "eles amam-se um ao outro" (although "eles amam-se" will probably interpreted this way anyhow); if one means "each one of them loves himself", one should say "eles amam-se a si mesmos" ou "eles amam-se a si próprios". Sometimes, especially in the spoken Portuguese, ele mesmo, ela mesma, com ele mesmo, com eles mesmos, etc. may be used instead of si and consigo. Example: "Eles têm de ter confiança neles (em+eles) mesmos" or "Eles têm de ter confiança em si (mesmos)". Note: If the pronoun nos is placed after a first person plural verbal form (enclitic position) that ends with -s, the s falls. Examples: "Vamo-nos (vamos+nos) embora amanhã" (=We shall leave tomorrow), "Respeitemo-nos mutuamente." (=Let us respect one another).
Si/sigo in EP
In European Portuguese, si and sigo can also be used to refer to the person to whom the message is directed in the formal treatment by "o senhor", etc. or in the treatment by você. They are employed in the same circumstances ti and tigo would be used in the treatment by tu.
Examples:
- "Se você não se importar, eu vou consigo" (=I'll go with you, if you don't mind)
- "Quando estava a passar pela Praça do Chile, lembrei-me de si".
- Not: "Vocês não sabem o que eu penso de si" (not used for the plural, the correct form is "...eu penso de vocês.").
Placement of clitic pronouns
Apart from the pronouns that act as subjects of a sentence, and from the stressed object pronouns which are employed after prepositions, Portuguese has several clitic object pronouns used with nonprepositional verbs, or as indirect objects. These can appear before the verb as separate words, as in ela me ama ("she loves me"), or appended to the verb after the tense/person inflection, as in ele amou-a ("he loved her") or ele deu-lhe o livro ("he gave her/him the book"). Note that Portuguese spelling rules (like those of French) require a hyphen between the verb and the clitic pronoun.
In medieval Ibero-Romance, the position of clitic object pronouns with respect to the verbs which govern them was flexible, but all Romance languages have since adopted a more strict syntax. The usual pattern is for clitics to precede the verb, or, in compound tenses, the auxiliary verb; e.g. Sp. Yo te amo, Fr. Je t'aime "I love you"; Sp. Tú me habías dicho, Fr. Tu m'avais dit "You had told me" (proclisis). The opposite order occurs only with a few tenses, such as the imperative: Sp. Dime, Fr. Dis-moi "Tell me" (enclisis). Spoken Brazilian Portuguese has taken more or less the same route, except that clitics usually appear between the auxiliary verb and the main verb in compound tenses, and proclisis is even more generalized: Eu te amo "I love you", but Me diz "Tell me", and Você tinha me dito "You had told me".
In European Portuguese, by contrast, enclisis is the default position for clitic pronouns in simple affirmative clauses: Eu amo-te "I love you", Diz-me "Tell me". In compound tenses, the clitic normally follows the auxiliary verb, Você tinha-me dito "You had told me" (like in Brazilian Portuguese, but conventionally spelled with a hyphen), though other positions are sometimes possible: Você vai dizer-me "You are going to tell me" (Spanish allows this syntax, as well), Você não me vai dizer "You are not going to tell me" (like in Spanish). Still, in formal Portuguese the clitic pronouns always follows the verb in the infinitive. The Brazilian proclisis is usually correct in European Portuguese (often found in ancient literature), though nowadays uncommon and emphatic. Only sentences that begin with a clitic pronoun, such as Te amo or Me diz, are considered unacceptable in European Portuguese.
With verbs in the future indicative tense or the conditional tense, enclitic pronouns are not placed after the verb, but rather incorporated into it: eu canto-te uma balada "I sing you a ballad" becomes eu cantar-te-ei uma balada in the future, and eu cantar-te-ia uma balada in the conditional (mesoclisis).
This is because both tenses were originally compound: cantarei = cantar + hei, cantaria = cantar + ia. In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, where proclisis is nearly universal, mesoclisis never occurs. Although the mesoclisis is often cited as a distinctive feature of Portuguese, it is becoming rare in spoken European Portuguese, since there is a growing tendency to replace the future indicative and the conditional with other tenses.
Enclisis and mesoclisis may require some adjustments in the verb ending and/or in the pronoun, e.g. cantar + o = cantá-lo ("to sing it"). The direct and indirect object pronouns can be contracted, as in dar + lhe + os = dar-lhos ("to give them to him"); cf. Spanish dar + le + los = dárselos.
- comprá-lo-ei = comprarei + o ("I will buy it").
- dar-to-ia = daria + te + o ("I would give it to you").
- dar-lho-ia = daria + lhe + o ("I would give it to him").
Although enclisis (or mesoclisis) is the default position for clitic pronouns in European Portuguese, proclisis is mandatory in subordinate clauses, except non-finite clauses (in which case both proclisis and enclisis are usually valid). Since proclisis is the normal position for clitic pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese, this marking does not exist in it.