Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon.
This is an introductory course to the Portuguese language as spoken in Portugal. Throughout the course, we will focus on the Portuguese sound system and basic Portuguese grammar.
You will also learn how to introduce yourself and day-to-day, useful phrases. Finally, we will discuss learning resources and strategies to support your learning journey.
After the course, you will have a basic understanding of European Portuguese pronunciation and grammar. You will also be capable of engaging in simple, short oral interactions. Last but not least, you will be aware of a variety of learning resources and strategies to help you succeed at learning the language.
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You’ve probably noticed that Portuguese verbs are often surrounded by little words like lhe, teornos. Those are object pronouns just like him, you or us in English.
Simply put, object pronouns go along with verbs to indicate to whom or to what the action refers.
Now, there are two kinds of object pronouns: direct and indirect pronouns. While the former concerns the direct object, the latter concerns the indirect object (we’ll soon see what these are exactly).
As far as my teaching experience goes, language learners often confuse direct with indirect object pronouns. Another common issue concerns their placement as students seem to have trouble knowing if they should place object pronouns before or after the verb.
In what follows, I will introduce and explain Portuguese direct and indirect object pronouns as well as the principles guiding their placement in the sentence.
Object pronouns are personal pronouns used to replace either the direct or indirect object of a verb. I know what are you thinking: What the heck does that mean?
Fair enough. Let’s look at this sentence:
O Joel deuuma flor à Isabel. Joel gave Isabel a flower.
Breaking down the above sentence into its basic syntactic units we have:
Subject
Joel
Verb (action)
deu (verbo dar)
Direct object
a flor
Indirect object
à Isabel
You can look at the direct object as the what or who the subject “directly” acts upon, and at the indirect object as the recipient of the action.
Here’s another way to tell one from the other: the direct object is normally introduced by an article or determiner – uma flor – whereas the indirect object is typically preceded by a preposition – à Isabel.
Now that you are more familiarised with the concepts of direct and indirect objects, it’s time to look into the pronouns themselves.
Direct vs indirect object pronouns
Look at these two variants of the above sentence:
(1) O Joel deu-a à Isabel. Joel gave it to Isabel.
(2) O Joel deu-lhe uma flor. Joel gave her a flower.
In the first sentence, the direct object, uma flor, is replaced by the direct object pronoun a. In the second, the indirect object is replaced by the indirect object pronoun lhe.
Here are the Portuguese object pronouns, direct and indirect:
SUBJECT PRONOUNS
DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS
INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS
Eu
me
me
Tu
te
te
Ele Ela
o a
lhe
Nós
nos
nos
Vocês
vos
vos
Eles Elas
os as
lhes
Note that, apart from the third person (singular and plural), Portuguese direct and indirect pronouns look the same.
Also, the third person of the direct object pronouns has distinct forms to match the gender of the object they refer to. As a matter of fact, they even take alternative spellings in some situations. We will be looking into that in a while.
For now, let’s briefly talk about the element in the sentence that object pronouns refer back to – the verb.
Verbs call to objects (or not)
Our sentence above – O Joel deu uma florà Isabel – takes both a direct and an indirect object. But that’s not always the case.
Whether a sentence takes both a direct and an indirect object, either one or the other, or none, depends on the verb of that sentence. In other words, a verb can call to both, one of them, or none.
Let’s look at a few examples.
Direct and indirect object
In the sentence below, the verb mostrar calls to both direct and indirect objects:
A Susana mostrao seu carro novoao seu amigo. Susana shows her new car to her friend.
A Susana mostra–oao seu amigo. Susana shows it to her friend.
A Susana mostra–lheo seu carro. Susana shows him her new car.
Direct object only
In the sentence below, the verb ler calls to the direct object only:
Leste as notícias? Did you read the news?
Leste-as? Did you read them?
Indirect object only
In the sentence below, the verb responder calls to the indirect object only:
Respondeste ao Simão? Did you answer Simão?
Respondeste-lhe. Did you answer him?
None – intransitive verbs
In the sentence below, the verb sentar-se calls to no object:
Senta-te aqui. Sit here.
Spelling modifications to direct object pronouns
There are a few situations where the third person (singular and plural) of the direct object pronouns shift into different forms. These alternative spellings reflect the spoken language and its connected speech.
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If the verb form ends in -r, -s or -z, these endings fall out and the pronouns -o, -a, -os, -as will shift to -lo, -la, -los -las:
-r Vamos abriras prendas? Shall we open the presents?
Vamos abri-las? Shall we open them?
-s Comes sempre a sopa no final. You always eat the soup at the end.
Come-la sempre no final. You always eat it at the end.
-z Dizo que pensas. Say what you think.
Di-lo. Say it.
Here are a couple of exceptions:
Ele quero reembolso. He wants the money back.
Ele quere–lo. He wants it back.
Tensa carteira contigo? Do you have your wallet with you?
Tem–la contigo? Do you have it with you?
Note that if the verb form ends in -ar or -az, then, a will take an acute accent to maintain the open sound of the vowel:
–ar Podes barrara manteiga? Could you spread the butter?
Podes barrá–la? Could you spread it?
–az Fazos deveres de casa! Do your homework!
Fá–los! Do it!
Analogously, if the verb form ends in -er or -ez, then, e will take a circumflex accent to maintain the closed sound of the vowel:
-er Vamos beberum vinho tinto? Shall we drink some red wine?
Vamos bebê–lo? Shall we drink it?
–ez O Ricardo fezuma omolete. Ricardo cooked an omelet.
O Ricardo fê–la. Ricardo cooked it.
-no, -na, -nos, -nas
If the verb form ends with a nasal sound – most often with the nasal consonant -m,or the diphthongs -ão and -õe – the pronouns -o, -a, -os, -as change into -no, na, nos, nas:
-m * Eles desligaramos telemóveis. They switched off their mobiles.
Eles desligaram-nos. They switched them off.
-ão Eles dãoos livros de volta. They give back the books.
Os alunos dão-nosde volta. They give them back.
-õe Ela põeas compras na mesa. She puts the groceries on the table.
Ela põe-nasna mesa. She puts them on the table.
* The third person plural of verbs often ends in -m
Contraction of the direct and indirect object pronouns
Sentences taking both direct and indirect objects can be rewritten with a single contracted form incorporating both object pronouns. In that case, the indirect object pronoun precedes the direct object pronoun:
Portuguese object pronouns: placement and word order
Sometimes Portuguese object pronouns follow the verb form. At other times, however, they precede it. Language learners often struggle to wrap their heads around this shifting word order.
But fear not. Their placement is not arbitrary. There are clear principles* guiding where to put the object pronouns in relation to the verb. Also, these principles apply to direct and indirect object pronouns alike.
In sentences taking only one verb, object pronouns are placed after the verb and linked to it by a hyphen:
Envio uma cartaao Sérgio. I send a letter to Sérgio.
Envio-aao Sérgio. I send it to Sérgio
Envio-lheuma carta. I send him a letter.
Envio-lha. I send it to him.
However, there are a number of cases where the object pronoun and the verb shift positions (in that case, there’s no hyphen between the two).
Accordingly, the reversed word order takes place when the verb is preceded by either (1) negative words (negative sentences), (2) question words (interrogative sentences), (3) subordinating conjunctions and prepositions, (4) adverbs, or (5) indefinite pronouns/determiners:
1. Negative words
não, nunca, ninguém, nehum, nada, jamais
2. Question words
o que, porque, quanto/a(s), quando, qual/quais , onde, quem
3. Subordinate conjunctions and prepositions
que, para, por, porque,se, como, em, de, conforme, etc.
4. Adverbs
ainda, já, tudo, sempre, também, talvez, pouco, bastante, muito, tanto, tão, só, lá etc.
5. Indefinite pronouns/determiners
tudo, todo/a(s), bastantes, muito/a(s), pouco/a(s), alguém, algo, etc.
Let’s look at a few examples regarding each of the five groups above.
1. Negative words
Object pronouns precede the verb form in negative sentences:
Ele abraça o António. He hugs António.
Ele abraça-o. He hugs him.
BUT,
Ele nãooabraça. He doesn’t hug him.
Ele nuncaoabraça. He never hugs him.
2. Question words
Object pronouns precede the verb form in interrogative sentences introduced by a question word:
Deixei uma mensagem à Gabriela. I left a message for Gabriela.
Deixei-lheuma mensagem. I left her a message.
BUT,
Quandolhe deixaste a mensagem? When did you leave her the message?
Porquelhe deixaste uma mensagem? Why did you leave her a message?
3. Subordinate conjunctions and prepositions
Object pronouns precede the verb form when the latter is introduced by a subordinating conjunction or preposition:
Ele enganou a Catarina e o Jorge. He tricked Catarina and Jorge.
Ele enganou-os. He tricked them.
BUT,
Eu penso que ele os enganou. I think that he tricked them.
Não sei como ele os enganou. I don’t know how he tricked them.
4. Adverbs
Object pronouns precede the verb form when the latter follows certain adverbs:
O Rui contou à Ana que está apaixonado Rui told Ana that he’s in love.
O Rui contou-lhe que está motivado. Rui told her that he’s in love.
BUT,
O Rui semprelhe contou que está apaixonado. At last, Rui told her that he’s in love.
O Rui tambémlhe contou que está apaixonado. Rui also told her that he’s in love.
Note that the adverb sempre in the example above is equivalent to finally in English. Most of the time, however, sempre is used with the meaning of always and, in that case, comes after the verb (without causing any change in the word order):
O Rui conta-lhesempre a mesma história. Rui always tells her the same story.
5. Indefinite pronouns
Object pronouns precede the verb form when the latter follows an indefinite pronoun or determiner:
A Ana adora o Henrique. Ana really likes Henrique.
A Ana adora-o. Ana really likes him.
BUT,
Muitas pessoas o adoram. Lots of people really like him.
Alguémo ama. Someone really likes him.
Future and conditional
In future and conditional tenses, object pronouns are normally placed between the stem and the ending of the verb form with all parts separated by hyphens.
Future tense
Ensinarei ao Miguel tudo o que aprendi. I will teach Miguel all I’ve learned.
Ensinar-lhe-ei o tudo que aprendi. I will teach him all I’ve learned.
Conditional
Doaria dinheiro se fosse rico. I would donate money if I were rich.
Doar-lo-ia se fosse rico. I would donate it if I were rich.
Note that the examples above sound very formal. In everyday life, people would rather say something along the lines of:
FUTURE EQUIVALENT (w/ the auxiliary verb ir)
Vou ensinar-lhetudo o que aprendi. I am going to teach him all I’ve learned.
CONDITIONAL EQUIVALENT(w/ the imperfect tense)
Doava–o se fosse rico. I would donate it if I were rich.
When the main verb is preceded by an auxiliary verb – ir, começar, querer, poder, conseguir, estar, ajudar and costumar among others – object pronouns can be placed either (1) after the main verb, or (2) after the auxiliary (the latter sounds more colloquial).
Here’s an example with the auxiliary verb ir:
Vou contar um segredo ao Manoel. I will tell Manoel a secret.
(1) Vou contar–lhe um segredo. (2) Vou–lhe contar um segredo. I will tell him a secret.
However, if the verbs are preceded by any of those words that we’ve covered above – question and negative words, as well as certain adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, or pronouns – the object pronoun is best placed before the auxiliary verb:
Nãolhe vou contar um segredo. I am not going to tell him a secret.
Verb “ter” + main verb
In Portuguese, we use the verb ter to build perfect tenses, just the same way we use have in English.
In the case of Portuguese compound tenses, object pronouns follow the auxiliary ter, not the main verb:
Ela tinha escritouma carta. She had written a letter.
Ela tinha-a escrito. She had written it.
Again, if the verbs are preceded by any of those words we mentioned above, the object pronoun is best placed before ter:
Ela nuncaatinha escrito. She had never written it.
Brazilian Portuguese
The placement of object pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese is somewhat more flexible. There’s still a clear tendency to place the pronoun before the verb:
(pt) Ontem vi-te na rua. (br) Ontem te vi na rua. Yesterday I saw you outside.
(pt) Quero-te dizer uma coisa. (br) Te quero dizer uma coisa. I want to tell you something.