Brazilian portuguesePronouns, Sentence Structure In Brazilian Portuguese, you can use direct and indirect object pronouns to replace the objectsNo definition set for objectsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of a sentence.
Direct object pronouns replace direct objects (nouns that are directly affected by the action of the verb).
direct object
Trouxe um bolo para Maria. → Trouxe-o para Maria.
I brought a cake for Maria. → I brought it for Maria.
Indirect object pronouns replace indirect objects (nouns that are benefited by the action, often by receiving something).
indirect object
Trouxe um bolo para Maria. → Trouxe-lhe um bolo.
I brought a cake for Maria. → I brought her a cake.
Like other pronouns, object pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese can take on several different forms to reflect characteristics of the nouns they replace. In this post, we’ll review the different forms of the direct and indirect object pronouns and discuss where to place these object pronouns in the sentence, including in sentences with compound verbsNo definition set for compound verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. Are you ready to learn more? Let’s jump right into it!
What are direct and indirect objects?
Direct and indirect objects are nouns or pronouns that complement the meaning of a verb. Direct objects answer the questions o que/quem?(what/who?) and are often linked to the verb without a preposition, as in:
Speaker A:O que você comprou na livraria?
What did you buy in the book store?
Speaker B:Comprei um livro sobre o Brasil.
I bought a book about Brazil.
Indirect objects answer the questions para quem / por quem(to who(m)? / for who(m)?) and are often connected to the verb with a prepositionNo definition set for prepositionLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
Speaker A:Para quem você comprou o livro sobre o Brasil?
For whom did you buy the book about Brazil?
Speaker B:Comprei o livro para a minha irmã.
I bought the book for my sister.
What are the direct and indirect object pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese?
The direct and indirect object pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese are illustrated in the table below.
eu(I) | me(me) | me(me) |
tu(you) | te(you) | te(you) |
você(you) | o, a(you, him, her, it) | lhe(you, him, her, it) |
ele, ela(he, she, it) |
nós(we) | nos(us) | nos(us) |
vós(you, formal) | vos(you, formal) | vos(you, formal) |
vocês(you, pl.) | os, as(you, them) | lhes(you, them) |
vocês(they) |
⤷TIPThe subject pronoun vós(you, formal and pl.), as well as the direct and indirect object pronoun vos(you, pl.) are rarely used nowadays in written or spoken Brazilian Portuguese.
There is another set of pronouns, called the stressed pronouns that can sometimes replace indirect objects. However, these follow completely different grammatical rules, as they are only ever used after prepositions. Compare:
indirect object pronoun
O garçom lhe serve o café.
prepositionstressed pronoun
O garçom serve o café para ela.
In this post, we’ll focus just on direct and indirect object pronouns, though we will give you some tips on when you might want to use a stressed pronoun instead. To learn more about the many uses of stressed pronouns, check out our overview of object pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese.
Direct and indirect object pronouns can be placed in a few different positions within a sentence:
after the verb, attached by a hyphen (most common)
in the middle of the verb, between the stemNo definition set for stemLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and the ending
We’ll discuss the rules for placing direct and indirect objects in a sentence below, but first let’s talk about the pronouns themselves.
The forms of direct object pronouns vs. indirect object pronouns
In many cases the direct and indirect object pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese look the same:
te → “you (sg.)” or “to/for you (sg.)”
nos → “us” or “to/for us”
vos → “you (pl.)” or “to/for you (pl.)”
Você esperou-me por muito tempo? Did you await me for a long time? | Os vizinhos deram-me boas-vindas. The neighbors welcomed me. lit. The neighbors gave me welcome. |
| Ele mostrou-nos a sua casa nova. He showed us his new home. |
You’ll only need to make a distinction between o(s), a(s) and lhe(s):
The object pronoun forms for você(you sg.) and vocês(you pl.) are the same as the third-personNo definition set for third-personLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. object pronouns: o(s), a(s), lhe(s). This can cause ambiguity:
direct object pronoun
Seu vizinho visita-o todos os dias.
✅Your neighbor visits you (m sg.) every day.
✅Your neighbor visits him every day.
To help avoid ambiguity when talking about você(s), you can use você(s) instead of an object pronoun or para você(s) instead of the indirect object pronoun.
direct object
Seu vizinho visita você todos os dias.
Your neighbor visits you every day.
prepositionstressed pronoun
O garçom serve o café para você.
The waiter serves the coffee to you.
When do the direct object pronouns ‘o, a, os, as’ change their forms?
The direct object pronouns o, a, os, as(him, her, it, them) change their forms in two cases:
when placed after verbs ending with the consonants -r, -s, -z
when placed after verbs ending in the nasal sounds -ão, õe, -m
Let’s take a closer look at these two cases where the direct object pronoun must change.
After verbs ending in -r, -s, -z
If the verb ends with -r, -s, or -z…
remove these consonants from the end of the verb:
encontramos → encontramo-
When verbs end in -er or -ar, you will also add an accent on the final vowel:
comprar(to buy) → comprá-
Although verbs ending in -ir do not receive an accent, the sound of the vowel -i becomes shorter. Take a look at this list to see the different written accents in Brazilian Portuguese and how they change the sound of the vowels.
and add an l to the start of the direct object pronoun form:
o, a, os, as → lo, la, los, las
For example:
| |
Encontramos o Marcos no cinema. We met Marcos at the cinema. | We met him at the cinema. |
I made the cake yesterday. | |
After verbs ending in a nasal sound (-ão, õe, -m)
For verbs ending with the nasal sounds -ão, -õe, and -m, the direct object pronouns take an n at the beginning:
o, a, os, as → no, na, nos, nas
For example:
Eles levaram as crianças para a escola. They took the kids to the school. | Eles levaram-nas para a escola. They took them to the school. |
Põe o livro dentro da mochila. Put the book inside the backpack. | Põe-no dentro da mochila. Put it inside the backpack. |
There is another instance where you may see a different form for direct (or indirect!) object pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese; sometimes, the direct and indirect object pronouns can contract when the two are used in a sentence together. Keep reading!
What are double object pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese?
Double object pronouns are used in sentences in which both the direct object and indirect object are represented by a pronoun. In these cases, the direct object pronoun and indirect object pronoun form a contraction, and we call these contracted pronouns “double object pronouns.”
For example:
| direct objectindirect object Trouxe um bolo para Maria. I brought a cake for Maria. |
Direct / Indirect Object Pronouns | | |
| |
The direct object pronouns o/a and os/as can contract with any of the indirect object pronouns to form a contraction. Here are all the possible contractions between direct and indirect object pronouns.
| |
o(him, it) | a(her, it) | os(them) | as(them) |
me(me) | mo | ma | mos | mas |
te(you) | to | ta | tos | tas |
lhe(him, her, it) | lho | lha | lhos | lhas |
nos(us) | no-lo | no-la | no-los | no-las |
vos(you) | vo-lo | vo-la | vo-los | vo-las |
lhes(them) | lho | lha | lhos | lhas |
These contractions are possible, but they are comparatively rare. Most native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese will choose to use only one object pronoun at a time. It is also possible to completely drop the direct object pronoun o completely, as in:
Where to put direct and indirect object pronouns in a sentence?
In Brazilian Portuguese, direct and indirect object pronouns are typically placed after the verb (attached via a hyphen), but there are some instances where native speakers will also use these object pronouns before the verb or between the verb stem and verb ending instead.
In formal writing, native speakers tend to follow the standard grammar rule and place the direct and indirect object pronouns after the verb and linked to it with a hyphen, as in:
verbdirect object pronoun
Lúcia ajudou-a no trabalho.
Lúcia helped her at work.
However, there are some specific cases (discussed below) when the pronoun will come before the verb, even in formal language. Also in very formal Brazilian Portuguese, the pronoun may come between the stem and the ending in the future tense or present conditional tense.
In informal Brazilian Portuguese, many native speakers prefer to place direct and indirect object pronouns before the verb, as in:
verbdirect object pronoun
And sometimes, a direct object pronoun is completely omitted:
verbdirect object pronoun
Lúcia a ajudou. → Lúcia ajudou.
⤷TIPNotice that there is no hyphen if the object pronoun comes before the verb!
In some cases, we may have two verbs that are used together, called compound verbs. When this happens, it is still quite common to see pronouns follow the verb, but there are some extra rules to learn, which we’ll cover at the end of this section.
Let’s look a bit more closely at the more exceptional cases here.
When to place direct and indirect object pronouns before the verb?
It is common to place direct and indirect object pronouns before the verb in informal Brazilian Portuguese, but even in more formal speech and writing, there are a few cases where the direct or indirect object pronoun can come before the verb.
With expressions of negation
When we use an expression of negation, like ninguém(no one), nunca(never), não(no), de modo algum(no way), the object pronoun comes between the negation and the verb:
negationdirect object pronounverb
With indefinite pronouns and adverbs
When a sentence starts with an adverb or indefinite pronoun like aqui(here) or tudo(everything, all), and that adverb or indefinite pronoun is not followed by a comma, the object pronoun comes before the verb:
adverbdirect object pronounverb
If there is pause, such as a comma, you should place the pronoun after the verb, as in:
adverbdirect object pronounverb
Phrases that begin with interrogative words
In phrases beginning with interrogative words like quem(who) or por que(why), the object pronoun comes before the verb:
interrogative worddirect object pronounverb
Quem te convidou para a festa?
Who invited you to the party?
Subordinating conjunctions
You’ll always put the object pronoun before the verb after certain subordinating conjunctionsNo definition set for subordinating conjunctionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., such as embora(although), porque(because), quando(when), and conforme(as):
subordinating conjunctionindirect object pronounverb
Conforme lhe disse, vou sair mais cedo hoje.
As I told you/him/her, I'm leaving early today.
After relative pronouns
After relative pronouns, such as que(that), the object pronoun will precede the verb:
relative pronoundirect object pronounverb
Adotei o gatinho que me lambeu.
I adopted the kitten that licked me.
When to put an object pronoun between the stem and the ending?
In very formal Brazilian Portuguese, sometimes you may see direct and indirect object pronouns placed between the stemNo definition set for stemLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of a verb and the ending when the verb appears in the future tense or in the present conditional.
Future tense
verbindirect object
Mostrarei ao Miguel toda a empresa hoje.
I will show Miguel the entire company today.
Mostrar-lhe-ei toda a empresa hoje.
I will show him the entire company today.
→ formal
Present conditional
verbdirect object
Ajudaria a Marta se tivesse tempo.
I would help Martha if I had time.
Ajudá-la-ia se tivesse tempo.
I would help her if I had time.
However, even in formal written Brazilian Portuguese, we rarely place pronouns between the stem and the ending. Instead, native speakers will use a different placement, for example:
Replacements for mostrar-lhe-ei(I will show him) in everyday or formal speech:
verbstressed pronoun
I will show him.
lit. I will show to him.
→ Here, we use a stressed pronoun instead of an indirect object pronoun.
verbindirect object pronoun
→ Here, we form the future by combining ir(to go) + infinitive verb. Because the future tense is not needed, we can put the indirect object pronoun in another location.
Replacements for ajudá-la-ia(I would help her) in informal speech:
→ Here we drop the object pronoun altogether.
I would help her.
lit. I would help she.
→ Here we use a subject pronoun instead of a direct object pronoun. This is technically ungrammatical but the substitution is common in informal settings.
Where to place direct and indirect object pronouns with compound verbs?
When direct and indirect object pronouns are used with compound verbsNo definition set for compound verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., the placement of the direct or indirect object depends on the type of compound verb being used, as well as on your level of formality. Let’s look at the main types of compound verbs.
With modal verbs
When we use a modal verbNo definition set for modal verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., like ir(to go), começar(to start, to begin), querer(to want), poder(to be able to, can), or estar(to be), it’s generally used in the construction:
In these kinds of constructions, direct and indirect object pronouns can either follow the main verb (infinitive) or the modal verb. It is a little more formal, though, to attach the pronoun after the infinitive.
modal verbverbdirect object pronoun
✅ Quero convidar-te para o meu aniversário.
✅ Quero-te convidar para o meu aniversário.
I want to invite you for my birthday.
In either case, the pronoun is usually preceded by the hyphen.
In formal Brazilian Portuguese, you can replace the hyphen with a space if the pronoun follows the modal verb.
modal verbmain verb (infinitive)direct object pronoun
Verbs in continuous tenses
The continuous tenses are formed by combining auxiliary verb estar(to be) with the main verb in its gerund form (ending in -ndo). In these cases, the direct and indirect object pronouns should follow the gerund.
auxiliary verbmain verbindirect object pronoun
Eles estão mostrando-nos a empresa.
They are showing us the company.
In informal Brazilian Portuguese, it is common to place the object pronoun before the main verb or even before the auxiliary verb estar(to be):
auxiliary verbmain verbindirect object pronoun
Eles estão nos mostrando a empresa.
Eles nos estão mostrando a empresa.
They are showing us the company.
It is also common to replace an indirect object pronoun with a stressed pronoun or to use subject pronoun a gente, as applicable. You can even to omit the pronoun entirely if it is identifiable from the context:
continuous tenseprepositionstressed pronounsubject pronoun
Eles estão mostrando a empresa para nós.
Eles estão mostrando a empresa para a gente.
Eles estão mostrando a empresa.
They are showing the company to us.
Verbs in perfect tenses
Like English, Brazilian Portuguese uses the verbs ter/haver(to have) + past participle to make perfect tenses. In these cases, the direct and indirect object pronouns should be placed after the auxiliary verb.
auxiliary verbdirect object pronounmain verb (participle)
However, in informal Brazilian Portuguese, many speakers would prefer to place the pronoun before the auxiliary verb, omit it, or even use a subject pronoun instead:
auxiliary verbdirect object pronounmain verb (participle)subject pronoun
Eu o tinha feito.
Eu tinha feito.
Eu tinha feito ele.
In the last example, the use of ele(it) as a direct object is ungrammatical according to standard grammar rules, however you will often hear this substitution made in informal spoken Brazilian Portuguese.
European Portuguese prefers to use the auxiliary haver in their perfect tenses, as in eu havia-o feito, while Brazilian Portuguese would use ter.
In summary
In this post, we reviewed the forms of direct and indirect object pronouns as well as their placement in a sentence. Here are the most important take-aways:
The direct object pronouns are: me, te, o, a, nos, vos, os, as
The indirect object pronouns are: me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes
The direct object pronouns o, a, os, as become lo, la, los, las after verbs ending with -r, -s, -z and become no, na, nos, nas after verbs ending with a nasal sound.
Generally, direct and indirect object pronouns are placed after the verb and connected to it with a hyphen. However, they can sometimes be used before the verb, between the stem and the ending, or between two verbs in a compound tense, depending on various factors, like:
Formality (before the verb is common in informal speech)
The presence of certain expressions (e.g. negation, adverbs, indefinite pronouns, interrogatives, relative pronouns, conjunctions)
The type of compound verb
Now, why don’t you practice forming and using direct and indirect object pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese with these activities!
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