We all know pronouns. You, They, He, etc. In Portuguese, there are regular pronouns and “indirect” pronouns. They are typically translated into English with equivalents like “them”, “him” and “us”. But not always.
In this post we will explain “pronomes oblíquos átonos” and how to use them.
The Pronouns
The regular pronouns in Portuguese are:
Eu (I), Tu (You), Ele/Ela (He/She), Nós (We), Vós (You, plural), Eles/Elas (He/She, plural)
The indirect (oblique) versions of these have the same meaning in English. Here are each regular pronoun’s corresponding indirect pronoun:
Eu (Me), Tu (Te), Ele/Ela (O,A,Lhe), Nós (Nos), Vós (Vos), Eles/Elas (Os, As, Lhes)
You might notice that Nos and Vos look the same. The pronunciations are quite different, so I recommend researching how to say them by listening to recordings from an online dictionary, such as Dicio.
How to use Oblíquos Átonos:
Instead of throwing jargon your way, let’s just look at some examples first.
Eu – Me
Deixe-me fazer! (Let me do [it]!).
It would be incorrect to say Deixe eu. This would be like saying, “Let I” in English. Despite this, you may hear it used incorrectly in casual speech.
Tu – Te
Cobraram-te muito? (Did they charge you a lot?)
Ele/Ela (O, A, Lhe)
Seguimos-lhe cegamente. (We followed them(her/him) blindly.)
Já o chamei várias vezes. (I already called him many times.)
*Lhe is a gender neutral form and is sometimes used with você. So it could mean “you” or “her/him/them(singular)”.
Nós – Nos
Ele nos comprou um carro. (He bought us a car.)
Vós – Vos
Eu vos darei o segredo. (I will tell you (plural) the secret.)
Eles/Elas – Os, As, Lhes
Enviou-lhes um convite. (He/She sent them an invitation).
Exceptions:
These pronouns aren’t regular, and will change form depending on the word. Here are the rules for this:
If a verb ends in m, ão, or õe – the pronouns “o, as, os, as” change to “no, na, nos, nas“.
Põe-nos na mesa. (Put them on the table)
If a verb ends in r, s or z – remove the ending and “o, a, os, as” change to “lo, la, los, las“.
Fiz = I did
Remove the z and add the right ending. Fi-lo ontem. (I did it yesterday).
The Rules
There are a ton of rules for these pronouns and how they can be used. I recommend getting used to seeing them and reading. Since this is an introduction to the concept, I will write a separate post on each rule.
A good rule of thumb is, these pronouns are used to replace a specific thing or person in the sentence when there is already a subject. For example, you’re talking about someone or doing something to someone.
I love you could be “Eu te amo”. The subject is “I” and you are talking about loving “to” someone – “you”. This isn’t how you would think about it in English, but this is what makes sense in Portuguese. Since “lhe” can be used casually to mean you (because of você), “Eu lhe amo” is also ok to use.
You may have noticed that sometimes these pronouns are attached to a verb and others are not. A lot of the times, they are interchangeable and you can restructure a sentence to be written either way. When attaching the pronoun to the end of a verb, it can sound more formal so it isn’t usually used in spoken language.
For more examples and explanations, here are some resources. (They are completely in Portuguese, but that’s just an opportunity to get some practice in!)
Pronoun Placement – How to use
Different Personal Pronouns (Advanced)