Enclisis is the clitic position the prescriptive rulebook prefers: the pronoun comes after the verb, joined to it with a hyphen — viu-me, sentou-se, chamo-me. In Brazil this is fundamentally a written-register form. You need it to write formal Portuguese correctly, to avoid the one thing prescriptive grammar absolutely forbids (starting a sentence with a clitic), and to read it without confusion. But in everyday speech it sounds stilted, which is why this page is the formal-writing counterpart to the proclisis page.
How enclisis is built
Take the conjugated verb, add a hyphen, and attach the clitic.
| Verb |
| Enclitic form |
|---|---|---|
| chamo (I call) | me | chamo-me |
| viu (saw) | me | viu-me |
| sentou (sat) | se | sentou-se |
| deu (gave) | lhe | deu-lhe |
| levanta (raises) | te | levanta-te |
Chamo-me Júlia e sou a nova diretora.
My name is Júlia and I am the new director. (formal)
O suspeito sentou-se sem dizer nada.
The suspect sat down without saying a word. (formal/literary register)
A testemunha viu-me sair pela porta dos fundos.
The witness saw me leave through the back door. (formal written)
The default for affirmative main clauses
Prescriptively, in a straightforward affirmative main clause with nothing forcing the pronoun forward, the clitic goes after the verb. This is the rule that produces Chamo-me João (the textbook way to introduce yourself) and Amo-te (the textbook "I love you").
Lembro-me bem daquele dia.
I remember that day well. (formal)
Vendeu-se a casa em uma semana.
The house sold within a week. (formal; passive se)
Compare these with how the same ideas come out in speech — Me lembro bem, Me chamo — and you can feel the register gap. Use enclisis when you are writing a report, a formal email, an academic paper, a contract, or literary prose. Use proclisis when you are talking.
The cardinal rule: never start a sentence with a clitic (in writing)
This is the single most useful reason for a learner to master enclisis. Prescriptive grammar treats a sentence-initial clitic as an error in writing. Because nothing precedes the verb to "pull" the pronoun forward, the clitic must go after the verb. So a formal sentence cannot open with me, te, se, o, a, lhe — it opens with the verb and the clitic follows.
❌ Me parece que houve um engano.
Avoid in formal writing — a written sentence shouldn't begin with a clitic.
✅ Parece-me que houve um engano.
It seems to me that there was a mistake. (correct formal opening)
Apresento-lhes o relatório anual.
I present to you the annual report. (formal opening — verb first, clitic enclitic)
In speech, of course, Brazilians cheerfully begin sentences with clitics (Me parece que...) — but if you are editing a formal document, this rule is the one your reviewer will flag.
Spelling changes with o, a, os, as
The third-person direct-object clitics o, a, os, as trigger spelling changes when attached enclitically, depending on how the verb form ends. This is mechanical but must be learned to read formal texts.
1. Verb ending in -r, -s, or -z: drop that consonant and add l- to the clitic, with a hyphen.
| Verb form | ends in |
| Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| ver (to see) | -r | o | vê-lo |
| fez (he did) | -z | a | fê-la |
| fazes (you do) | -s | o | fá-lo |
| amar (to love) | -r | os | amá-los |
É difícil convencê-lo a mudar de ideia.
It's hard to convince him to change his mind. (convencer + o → convencê-lo)
Ela tomou a decisão e nunca se arrependeu de fê-la.
She made the decision and never regretted making it. (literary; fez + a → fê-la)
Note the accent that appears on the verb's final vowel (vê-lo, amá-los, fê-la) — when the consonant is dropped, the now-final stressed vowel often takes an acute or circumflex.
2. Verb ending in a nasal sound (-m, -ão, -õe): add n- to the clitic.
Os pais amam-nos incondicionalmente.
Parents love them unconditionally. (amam + os → amam-nos)
Dão-no como certo.
They take it for granted. (dão + o → dão-no)
These third-person enclitic forms are essentially confined to formal writing and literature in Brazil; in speech the direct object is expressed with ele/ela or dropped entirely (see the direct-object pages). But you must be able to parse vê-lo and amá-los when reading.
Mesoclisis: where enclisis would land inside the verb
When an affirmative main clause uses the future or conditional tense — the two tenses that would otherwise demand enclisis — the clitic is inserted inside the verb instead. This is mesoclisis (ver-me-ia, dar-lhe-ei), and it is functionally extinct in Brazil. It has its own page; just know that it is the "enclisis variant" for these two tenses and that you should never produce it in speech.
Common Mistakes
❌ Viu me ontem no mercado.
Incorrect — enclisis requires a hyphen.
✅ Viu-me ontem no mercado.
He saw me yesterday at the market.
❌ Me chamo João. (in a formal cover letter)
Avoid in formal writing — a clitic shouldn't open a written sentence.
✅ Chamo-me João.
My name is João. (correct formal/written form)
❌ É difícil convencer-o.
Incorrect — verb ending in -r drops the r and the clitic takes l-.
✅ É difícil convencê-lo.
It's hard to convince him.
❌ Levanta-te! (shouted casually to a friend)
Sounds stilted in Brazilian speech; conversationally it's Levanta or Se levanta.
✅ Levanta-te.
Get up. (formal/literary; correct for written register)
Key Takeaways
- Enclisis = clitic after the verb, always hyphenated: viu-me, sentou-se.
- It is the prescriptive default for affirmative main clauses and the form you need for formal Brazilian writing.
- A formal written sentence cannot begin with a clitic — flip to enclisis (Parece-me...) or add a proclisis trigger.
- With o/a/os/as, enclisis triggers spelling changes: vê-lo, fê-la, amá-los, amam-nos. These are written-register forms.
- In speech, enclisis sounds bookish — default to proclisis there instead.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Proclisis as BR Default (Speech)A2 — In spoken Brazilian Portuguese the object pronoun goes before the verb almost every time — even at the start of a sentence.
- Clitic Placement: OverviewB1 — The three positions for clitic pronouns — proclisis, enclisis, mesoclisis — and why Brazilian speech and the prescriptive rulebook pull in opposite directions.
- Proclisis Trigger Words (Formal Rule)B2 — The negatives, conjunctions, relatives, and adverbs that force the clitic before the verb even in the strictest formal Brazilian Portuguese.
- Direct Object + Verb Endings: Fusion (Fazê-lo)B2 — How o/a/os/as fuse with verb endings to become lo/la/los/las (fazê-lo) or no/na/nos/nas after nasals — a formal, mostly written construction in Brazil.
- Clitic Placement: BR vs PT-PT ComparedB1 — The single clearest grammatical marker dividing Brazilian and European Portuguese — Brazil fronts object pronouns (Me chamo), Portugal attaches them after the verb (Chamo-me).