In Brazilian Portuguese, the subject pronouns tu and vós are rarely used nowadays. Today we mostly use você and vocês instead. Read on to learn more!
Brazilian Portuguese Articles
When to use subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese?
By: Ana Amélia Rodrigues dos Santos Thu Dec 12 2024
Brazilian portuguesePronouns
We use subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese to replace the nounNo definition set for nounLorem 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. or nouns acting as the subjectNo definition set for subjectLorem 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 the sentence. The subject is the main noun that a sentence is about and is most often is the noun that performs the action.
Carlos é brasileiro. → (Ele) é brasileiro.
Carlos is Brazilian → He is Brazilian.
Unlike in English, subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese can be omitted from a sentence, since the verb ending already tells us “who” or “what” the subject is. However, there are also some cases in which the subject pronouns can’t be dropped.
Do you want to know more? In this post, we’ll review the forms and uses of subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese. Keep reading — we have the answers for you!
Table of Contents
What are the subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese?
The subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese are illustrated in the table below:
Number | Person | Subject pronouns | English |
|---|---|---|---|
Singular | 1st person | eu | I |
2nd person | tu, você | you | |
3rd person | ele | he, it (m.) | |
ela | she, it (f.) | ||
Plural | 1st person | nós | we |
2nd person | vós, vocês | you | |
3rd person | eles | they (m.) | |
elas | they (f.) |
Important
The form of a subject pronoun will reflect certain features of the noun it replaces: whether it is singular or plural, whether it is masculine or feminine.
They also have different forms depending on the “person” of the pronoun:
1st person = speaker(s) → “I” or “we”
2nd person = addresse(s) → “you”
3rd person = other → “he,” “she,” “it,” “they”
⤷ Did you know?
Você is a pronoun that developed from the personal title vossa mercê(your grace). This personal title was used to demonstrate respect to royalty in Portugal and, as the Crown went to Brazil, it started being used there as well.
vossa mercê = vós(you, pl.) + mercê(grace, mercy)
From this, você became popular as a formal way to refer to people who would not accept being called tu.
Take a look at this list of personal titles that are used nowadays in Brazilian Portuguese.
‘Tu’ vs. ‘você’: How to say “you” in Brazilian Portuguese?
In Brazilian Portuguese, we predominantly use the forms você(you sg.) and vocês(you pl.) to say “you.” The forms tu(you sg.) and vós(you pl.) are more commonly used in informal European Portuguese.
Brazilian Portuguese:
Você está no Brasil?
Are you in Brazil?
European Portuguese:
Tu estás no Brasil?
Are you in Brazil? (informal)
Important
Notice that the form of the verb is also different depending on whether you use você(s) or tu/vós!
Tip
If you want to formally address a person in Brazilian Portuguese, you can use the o(s) senhor(es)(you, sir(s)) or a(s) senhora(s)(you, lady/ladies)!
De onde o senhor é?
Where are you, sir, from?
De onde a senhora é?
Where are you, lady, from?
To learn more about the differences between Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese, check out our other post!
‘Nós’ vs. ‘a gente’: How to say “we” in Brazilian Portuguese?
The standard way to say “we” in Brazilian Portuguese is to use the subject pronoun nós, however this can be replaced by a gente(we) in informal Brazilian Portuguese. When the subject pronoun a gente substitutes nós, the third person singular conjugation form is used.
Informal:
A gente trabalha junto.
We work together.
Formal:
Nós trabalhamos juntos.
We work together.
How to say “it” in Brazilian Portuguese?
As you may have noticed, there are two ways to say “it” in Brazilian Portuguese, ele and ela but neither of these is gender neutral, as “it” is in English.
This is because all nouns in Brazilian Portuguese, even those for inanimate objects, have a gender. For example, carro(car) is masculine while cadeira(chair) is feminine. We use ele to replace masculine nouns and ela for feminine ones:
O carro está quebrado. → Ele está quebrado.
The car is broken. → It is broken.
A cadeira está quebrada. → Ela está quebrada.
The chair is broken. → It is broken.
In impersonal sentences, where “it” in English doesn’t stand for any noun in particular, we simply do not use a subject pronoun in Brazilian Portuguese:
Está frio.
It is cold.
Chove muito agora.
It is raining a lot now.
Important
If you need to use an explicitly gender-neutral third-person pronoun in Brazilian Portuguese, these forms are most often written: el@(s), elx(s), and elu(s). To learn more about gender neutral language in Brazilian Portuguese, read this post!
How to use subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese?
Subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese are primarily used to replace the subject of a sentence, but they can also be used after linking verbs like ser(to be) or estar(to be).
To replace a subject:
subjectsubject pronounJoão e Carlos são brasileiros. → Eles são brasileiros.
João and Carlos are Brazilian. → They are Brazilian.
After a linking verb:
subjectlinking verbsubject pronounO autor do livro sou eu.
The author of the book is me.
Let’s take a look at each!
Using a subject pronoun to replace the subject
In Brazilian Portuguese, subject pronouns can function as the subject of a sentence.
Eu quero muito visitar o Brasil.
I really want to visit Brazil.
However, because the ending of the verb often is enough to show you “who” or “what” the subject of the sentence is, subject pronouns in this context are generally optional:
Quero muito visitar o Brasil.
(I) really want to visit Brazil.
→ The form quero is only used if the subject is eu, so the pronoun itself is not actually necessary.
Exception!
In some verb tenses, the form of the verb isn’t enough to tell you the intended subject pronoun. In these cases, to avoid confusion, the subject pronoun should not be dropped.
For example, in the present subjunctive the form of the verb is the same regardless of whether the subject pronoun is eu(I), você(you), ele(he), or ela(she). See how the subject pronoun is necessary to clarify the difference between the two sentences below.
subject pronounverb
É necessário que você repita o que ele disse.
It is necessary that you repeat what he said.
É necessário que ela repita o que eu disse.
It is necessary that she repeat what I said.
But in cases where the subject can be retrieved from context, we include the subject pronoun as a form of emphasis or to add extra clarification. Here are some situations where including the subject pronoun can be helpful:
Simple emphasis or specificity
Nós, as pessoas trabalham nesta empresa, conhecemos todas as regras.
We, the people who work at this company, know all the rules.
To show contrast between two different subjects
Eu entrevisto a candidata enquanto você prepara a documentação.
I interview the candidate while you prepare the documentation.
Tip
To add extra emphasis to a subject pronoun in Brazilian Portuguese, you can follow it with mesmo/a(s) or próprio/a(s)(-self) or with the phrase é que(is that):
Eu mesmo(a) quero rever o trabalho.
I myself want to review the work.
Você é que deveria ter ido ao supermercado.
You (is that) should have gone to the supermarket.
Using pronouns in compound subjects
When the subject pronoun is one of a list of subjects (in a “compound subject”), it is generally placed last, as in:
subject pronoun
Carlos, Maria e eu fomos ao cinema ontem.
Carlos, Maria and I went to the cinema yesterday.
However, if what is being said contains something unpleasant or bears responsibility, the subject pronoun eu(I) must be placed first in the compound subject.
Eu, Sofia e Marta somos responsáveis pela bagunça.
Sofia, Maria and I are responsible for the mess.
Using subject pronouns after linking verbs
In Brazilian Portuguese, you can also use a subject pronoun after a linking verb like ser(to be) or estar(to be), as a way to describe the subject noun. In this use, we call these “nominal predicates,” because the pronoun is acting as the predicateNo definition set for predicateLorem 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 the sentence.
subjectlinking verbsubject pronoun
O autor do livro sou eu.
The author of the book is me.
Did you notice that in the sentence above, the verb is sou(I am), not é(he, it is)? When the subject pronoun follows the linking verb, the linking verb agrees with the pronoun! This occurs because the subject and predicate are the same person or thing: the subject o autor do livro = eu.
Important
When the subject pronouns ele, ela, eles, elas(he, she, it, they) are used as predicates, they can form contractionsNo definition set for contractionsLorem 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. with the words em(in) and de(of/from).
A ideia de viajarmos para o Brasil foi dele.
The idea to travel to Brazil was his.
→ dele = de(of) + ele(he)
The contracted forms are given below:
de(of, from) | em(in) | |
ele(s) | dele(s) | nele(s) |
ela(s) | dela(s) | nela(s) |
However, when ele, ela, eles, elas(he, she, it, they) function as subjects of a phrase, you cannot use these contractions:
Pouco depois de eles saírem de casa, você chegou.
Shortly after they left home, you arrived.
In summary
In this post, we had a look at:
The forms of the subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese: eu, (tu), você, ele, ela, nós, (vós), vocês, eles, elas
The two main uses of subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese:
as the subject
as a nominal predicates (after linking verb)
Remember these major differences between subject pronouns in English and Brazilian Portuguese:
There is no gender neutral “it” in Brazilian Portuguese, only ele(s) (masculine) and ela(s) (feminine).
There are a lot of different ways to say “you” in Brazilian Portuguese, but typically você is used for singular “you”, and vocês is used for plural “you.”
Subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese can typically be omitted, because the verb conjugation ending will clarify the subject in most cases. Including the subject pronoun is most often a form of emphasis.
When a pronoun follows a linking verb in Brazilian Portuguese, that pronoun will be a subject pronoun and the verb will agree with that pronoun.
Are you ready to practice using subject pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese?
