Portuguese Object Pronouns: Everything You Need to Know

What are pronouns?

Pronouns are words like me, you, it, and they, which stand for the names of people, places, and things.

There are several types of pronouns. One type is subject pronouns, which represent the person or thing performing the action. For example:

• Eu vejo-te. (I see you) → eu (I) is the one seeing.

• Tu vês-me. (You see me.) → tu (you) is the one seeing.

But actions also have a receiver, this is where object pronouns come in.

In the same examples:

• Eu vejo-te. (I see you.) → te (you) receives the action.

• Tu vês-me. (You see me.) → me (me) receives the action.

In short:

• eu and tu are subject pronouns;

• me and te are object pronouns.

  
  

Understanding Object Pronouns

Object pronouns, called pronomes de complemento in Portuguese, replace the names of people or things that receive the verb’s action. In Portuguese, they are often attached to the verb with a hyphen. However, in many cases, which we'll explore later, they appear before the verb or even in the middle.

Direct and Indirect Objects

A verb can have two types of objects: direct or indirect, depending on how the action reaches them.

Direct Object Pronouns (Pronomes de Complemento Direto)

The direct object is the person or thing that receives the action directly.

• 🎁 Eu dei um livro ao Carlos. (I gave a book to Carlos.)
  Ask: What was given? → Um livro. (A book.)
  So, um livro is the direct object.

  We can use the direct object pronoun o (it) to replace um livro (a book):

  • Eu dei-o ao Carlos. (I gave it to Carlos.)

  
  

Direct object pronouns, called pronomes de complemento direto in Portuguese, replace the direct objects of the verb.

Direct Object Pronouns are:

• me — me
  O Carlos convidou-me. (Carlos invited me.)

• te — you (casual)
  Eu vi-te na festa. (I saw you at the party.)

• o — him, it, or you (formal, masculine)
  Eu vi-o há cinco minutos. (I saw him / it / you — masculine and formal — five minutes ago.)

• a — her, it, or you (formal, feminine)
  Eu vi-a há cinco minutos. (I saw her / it / you — feminine and formal — five minutes ago.)

• nos — us
  Ele chamou-nos. (He called us.)
  🔈 Note: The o in nos is pronounced like “oo” in zoo, not like nós (we), which has a more open sound.

• vos — you (plural)
  Eu ajudo-vos. (I help you.)

• os / as — them (masculine / feminine)
  Eu dei-os ao João. (I gave them to João.)

  Eu convidei-as para a festa. (I invited them to the party.)

  
  

* Note that Portuguese doesn’t have a 3rd person-neutral pronoun equivalent to the English it, so it’s always replaced by o or a, depending on the gender of the noun it replaces.

• 🎥 O filme? Eu vi-o. (The movie? I saw it.)

• 🏠 A casa? Eu comprei-a. (The house? I bought it.)

Direct Object Pronouns: Third-person alternative spellings

The third-person direct object pronouns (o, a, os, as) take alternative spellings (-lo, -la, -los, -las and -no, -na, -nos, -nas) in the situations explained below.

-lo, -la, -los, -las

When object pronouns o(s) / a(s) follow verb forms ending in -r, -s or -z, these endings drop and they change to lo(s) / la(s). For example:

• Verb ending with -r:

  • 👨‍🍳 Vamos servir as sobremesas. (Let’s serve the desserts.) ➡ Vamos servi-las. (Let’s serve them.)

• Verb ending with -s:

  • 🍷 Tu bebes vinho ao almoço? (Do you drink wine at lunch?) ➡ Tu bebe-lo ao almoço? (Do you drink it at lunch?)

• Verb ending with -z:

  • 🗣️ Diz a verdade. (Tell/Say the truth.) ➡ Di-la. (Say it.)

There are two exceptions to this rule:

• Verb querer (to want) in the form quer ➡ Quere-o, quere-a, quere-os, quere-as

• Verb ter (to have) in the form tens ➡ Tem-lo, tem-la, tem-los, tem-las

The use of accents with -lo(s), -la(s):

When attaching -lo, -la, -los, or -las to certain verbs, an accent may be needed to preserve the original stress or prevent pronunciation changes.

• Acute accent (á, é): used for open vowels after -ar, -az
  chamar + a → chamá-la
  faz + a → fá-la

• Circumflex accent (ê, ô): used for closed vowels after -er, -ez, -or
  comer + o → comê-lo
  compor + as → compô-las

• For verbs ending in -air or -uir, the accent prevents diphthongs:
  atrair → atraí-las
  construir → construí-lo

  
  

-no, -na, -nos, -nas

When object pronouns o(s) / a(s) follow verb forms ending in a nasal sound, corresponding to the spellings -ão, -õe or -m, they change to no(s) / na(s).

For example:

• 🎁 Elas dão as prendas às crianças. (They give the gifts to the children.) ➡ Elas dão-nas às crianças. (They give them to the children.)

• 🍽️ Por favor, põe a mesa. (Please, set the table.) ➡ Por favor, põe-na. (Please, set it.)

• 🧥 Levem os casacos. (Take the jackets.) ➡ Levem-nos. (Take them.)

Note: These alternative spellings are not used if the direct object pronoun is placed before the verb.

• ➡ Não os levem. (Don't take them.)

Indirect Object Pronouns (Pronomes de Complemento Indireto)

The indirect object is the person or thing that benefits from or receives the direct object of the action. They are introduced by the preposition a (to).

• 🎁 Eu dei um livro ao Carlos. (I gave a book to Carlos.)
  Ask: To whom did I give the book? → Ao Carlos. (To Carlos.)
  So, o Carlos is the indirect object.

  We can use the indirect object pronoun lhe (to him) to replace ao Carlos (to Carlos):

  • Eu dei-lhe um livro. (I gave him a book)

Notice that in English, the preposition to is often left out.

• 📘 I gave him a book = I gave a book to him.

  
  

The indirect object pronouns are:

• me — to me
  Ele deu-me o livro. (He gave me the book.)

• te — to you (casual)
  Eu comprei-te um vestido. (I bought you a dress.)

• lhe — to him / to her / to you (formal, singular)
  Eu enviei-lhe uma carta. (I sent him / her / you [formal] a letter.)

• nos — to us
  Ele deu-nos um aviso. (He gave us a warning.)

• vos — to you (plural)
  Ele mostrou-vos a casa? (Did he show you the house?)

• lhes — to them (masculine or feminine)
  Eu disse-lhes a verdade. (I told them the truth.)

As you can see, the words used for indirect and direct object pronouns are mostly the same, except in the third person. In the third person:

• Direct object pronouns are:

  • o, a (him, her, it, you [formal])

  • os, as (them [masculine and feminine])

• Indirect object pronouns are:

  • lhe (to him, to her, to it, to you [formal]),

  • lhes (to them [masculine and feminine])

Examples:

🐱 Eu dei a comida ao gato. (I gave the food to the cat.)

• ➡ Direct object pronoun: a
  Eu dei-a ao gato. (I gave it to the cat.)

• ➡ Indirect object pronoun: lhe
  Eu dei-lhe a comida. (I gave him the food. = I gave the food to him.)

Pronoun Placement

After the verb

Pronouns normally come after the verb in simple affirmative sentences. In that case, we always use a hyphen.

• 🎨 Este quadro? Sim, eu pintei-o. (This painting? Yes, I painted it.)

• 🧠 Eles fizeram-na repensar a sua escolha. (They made her rethink her choice.)

Before the verb

The pronouns come before the verb when it is preceded by:

1. Negative words (não, nunca/jamais, nada, nenhum, ninguém, nem)

• 🎨 Este quadro? Não, eu não o pintei. (This painting? No, I didn’t paint it.)

2. Question words (quem, quando, como, qual, etc)

• 🏗️ Quem a construiu? (Who built it?)

3. Certain conjunctions (used in subordinate clauses: que, porque, como, enquanto, etc), adverbs (talvez, ainda, já, também, etc), indefinite pronouns or determiners (algum/a, muito/a(s), pouco/a(s), etc)

• 🛏️ Eu já os pus na cama. (I already put them to bed.)

• 🤨 Apesar de o achar incompetente, vou dar-lhe uma oportunidade. (Even though I think him incompetent, I’ll give him a chance.)

In the middle of the verb

When the verb is conjugated in the future or the conditional, the object pronoun is placed between the verb stem and the conjugated ending of the verb, separated by two hyphens.

• 🖌️ Eu pintarei. (I will paint.) ➡ Eu pintá-lo-ei. (I will paint it/him/you [masculine formal].)

• 📞 Eu chamaria. (I would call.) ➡ Eu chamá-la-ia. (I would call it/her/you [feminine formal].)

Contraction of Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

These contractions let you combine both pronouns into a single one, making your sentences shorter and smoother.

For example:
📚 Instead of "Ele deu-me o livro" (He gave me the book), you can say Ele deu-mo (He gave it to me).

But here’s what you need to know:

• The indirect object pronoun comes first (me, te, lhe)

• The direct object pronoun must be third person (o, a, os, as).

✅ Common combinations:

• me + o → mo | me + a → ma

• me + os → mos | me + as → mas

• te + o → to | te + a → ta

• te + os → tos | te + as → tas

• lhe + o → lho | lhe + a → lha

• lhe + os → lhos | lhe + as → lhas

Rare combinations: The forms with nos and vos are grammatically correct but are rarely used.

• nos + o → no-lo (rare) | nos + a → no-la

• nos + os → no-los (rare) | nos + as → no-las

• vos + o → vo-lo (rare) | vos + a → vo-la

• vos + os → vo-los (rare) | vos + as → vo-las
  
  

Formal and Informal Use of Object Pronouns

In informal situations, like casual conversations with friends or family, it’s common to use the second-person singular pronoun te for both direct and indirect objects.

However, in formal settings, such as business, academic, or professional environments, it's more appropriate to use third-person singular pronouns instead.

Formal Object Pronouns:

• Direct object: o (masculine), a (feminine)

• Indirect object: lhe (to you, him, her)

These replace te when speaking respectfully or formally.
Examples:

• ❌ Eu ajudo-te. (I’ll help you — informal)
  ✅ Eu ajudo-o / ajudo-a. (I’ll help you — formal)
  
  

• ❌ Entreguei-te os documentos. (I delivered the documents to you — informal)
  ✅ Entreguei-lhe os documentos. (I delivered the documents to you — formal)

  
  

Differences Between European and Brazilian Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese tends to be more informal than European Portuguese, especially in everyday speech. This informality also shows up in how object pronouns are used. Even in writing, Brazilians often follow patterns closer to spoken language.

Here are some key differences:

1. Position of Object Pronouns

In Brazilian Portuguese, the object pronoun me (me) almost always comes before the verb:
📞 Ele me chamou. (He called me.)

This contrasts with European Portuguese, where it would typically be:
📞 Ele chamou-me.

2. Use of "a gente" Instead of "nos"

In Brazil, a gente (literally "the people") is often used instead of nos (us).

👩 Ela viu a gente. (She saw us.)

In European Portuguese, it would be:
👩 Ela viu-nos. (She saw us.)

3. Avoidance of "te", "o(s)", "a(s)"

Brazilians rarely use the pronouns te, o(s), or a(s) in speech. Instead, they often use subject pronouns like você, ele, ela, vocês, eles, and elas as object pronouns, which is widely accepted in informal language.

👀 Eu vi eles ontem. (I saw them yesterday.)
🔍 Eu vi você ontem. (I saw you yesterday.)

In European Portuguese, these would be:
👀 Eu vi-os ontem.
🔍 Eu vi-te ontem.

4. Use of "para" or "a" Instead of Indirect Object Pronouns

In Brazil, instead of using indirect object pronouns like lhe, people often say para ele/ela or a ele/ela, especially in speech.

🗣️ Eu disse-lhe. (I told him.) → becomes Eu disse para ela/ele or Eu disse a ela/ele.

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