Pronouns: Direct Objects

01

The Direct Object Pronouns

Each subject pronoun has a corresponding direct object pronoun. These must agree in number and gender with the noun they replace.

• eu (I) → me (me)
• você (you, singular) → te / o / a
• ele (he, it) → o (him, it)
• ela (she, it) → a (her, it)
• nós (we) → nos (us)
• vocês (you, plural) → os / as
• eles (they, masculine/mixed) → os (them)
• elas (they, feminine) → as (them)

A note on 'you': In Brazil, você is the standard word for 'you'. Informally, the object pronoun te is very common. In more formal situations, o (for a man) or a (for a woman) is used.

• Ele me viu no supermercado.

  He saw me at the supermarket.

• Eu te liguei ontem à noite.

  I called you last night.

• Nós os encontramos na festa.

  We met them (masculine/mixed group) at the party.

• Você comprou as flores? Sim, eu as comprei.

  Did you buy the flowers? Yes, I bought them.

02

Placement of Pronouns

In Brazilian Portuguese, the pronoun's position relative to the verb (known as colocação pronominal) follows certain patterns.

Before the Verb (Próclise)

This is the most common placement in everyday Brazilian Portuguese. The pronoun comes before the verb, especially in the presence of negative words, question words, and certain adverbs.

• Eu não o conheço bem.

  I don't know him well.

• Quem te deu este presente?

  Who gave you this present?

• Espero que você se divirta.

  I hope you have fun.

After the Verb (Ênclise)

The pronoun is attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen. This is required in a few specific cases:

1. At the beginning of a sentence (though starting a sentence this way is more common in formal writing).

2. With verbs in the affirmative imperative (commands).

3. With verbs in the infinitive or gerund.

• Ajude-me, por favor.

  Help me, please.

• É um prazer conhecê-lo.

  It's a pleasure to meet you.

• Ele saiu, deixando-nos sozinhos.

  He left, leaving us alone.

03

Changes to Verbs and Pronouns

When a pronoun is placed after the verb (ênclise), both the verb ending and the pronoun can change for easier pronunciation. This applies only to the third-person pronouns o, a, os, as.

Verbs ending in -r, -s, or -z

The final consonant is dropped, and the pronouns become lo, la, los, las. An accent is often added to the verb's vowel.

• Eu vou comprar o carro. → Eu vou comprá-lo.

  I'm going to buy the car. → I'm going to buy it.

• Você precisa fazer os exercícios. → Você precisa fazê-los.

  You need to do the exercises. → You need to do them.

Verbs ending in a nasal sound (-m, -ão, -õe)

The pronouns become no, na, nos, nas.

• Eles viram o filme. → Eles viram-no.

  They saw the movie. → They saw it.

• Eles dão o dinheiro para a caridade. → Eles dão-no para a caridade.

  They give the money to charity. → They give it to charity.

04

Colloquial Usage in Brazil

In everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese, the formal rules are often simplified. It is extremely common to use subject pronouns (ele, ela, eles, elas) as direct objects, placed after the verb.

• Eu vi ele ontem.

  I saw him yesterday. (Grammatically formal: Eu o vi ontem.)

• Você encontrou ela na festa?

  Did you find her at the party? (Grammatically formal: Você a encontrou na festa?)

Similarly, você and vocês are frequently used as direct objects instead of their formal counterparts.

• Eu amo você.

  I love you. (Instead of: Eu te amo / Eu a amo.)

• Nós vamos chamar vocês mais tarde.

  We are going to call you (all) later. (Instead of: Nós vamos chamá-los.)

While this colloquial usage is widespread and perfectly understood, the standard grammatical forms (o, a, os, as) are required in writing and formal speech.