If you remember only one way to say "to me / to you / to him" in Brazilian Portuguese, make it this one: para + a tonic pronoun. Dei o livro para ele ("I gave the book to him"), Comprei isso para você ("I bought this for you"). This prepositional construction — colloquially shrunk to pra — is how Brazilians actually express the indirect object in speech, neatly sidestepping the fading clitic lhe. It is also where a classic, high-frequency error lives: it must be para mim, never para eu.
The forms
After the preposition para (or its casual form pra), you use the tonic (stressed, "strong") pronouns — the same set you use after any preposition.
| Recipient | para + pronoun | colloquial |
|---|---|---|
| to/for me | para mim | pra mim |
| to/for you (sg.) | para você | pra você / pra ocê |
| to/for him | para ele | pra ele |
| to/for her | para ela | pra ela |
| to/for us | para nós / para a gente | pra gente |
| to/for you all | para vocês | pra vocês |
| to/for them | para eles / para elas | pra eles / pra elas |
Notice that "me" is mim, not eu. This is the crucial difference between the subject pronoun (eu) and the tonic object pronoun used after a preposition (mim). More on this below and in Emphatic 'Mim': After Prepositions.
Dei o livro para ele.
I gave the book to him. (everyday — the default Brazilian indirect object)
Comprei isso para você.
I bought this for you. (everyday)
Ela trouxe um café pra mim.
She brought a coffee for me. (everyday — 'pra mim', the casual form)
Why Brazilians prefer this over 'lhe'
In European Portuguese and in formal written Brazilian, the recipient is a clitic: Dei-lhe o livro. But spoken Brazilian has largely abandoned lhe (see Indirect Object Pronouns). The prepositional phrase wins for three concrete reasons:
- Clarity. Lhe is ambiguous — it can mean "to him," "to her," or "to you." Para ele / para ela / para você says exactly which one.
- No placement headache. Clitics force you to think about proclisis vs enclisis. A prepositional phrase just sits at the end of the sentence like an English "to him" — no rules to learn.
- Naturalness. It simply is how the spoken language evolved. Falei com ele, Mandei pra ela, Dei pro meu irmão — this is the texture of everyday Brazilian.
Mandei a mensagem pra ela, mas ela não respondeu.
I sent the message to her, but she didn't reply. (everyday)
Você pode explicar isso pra gente de novo?
Can you explain that to us again? (everyday — 'pra gente' = to us)
'Pra': the colloquial contraction
In casual speech and informal writing (texts, social media), para almost always contracts to pra. It further fuses with articles: para o → pro, para a → pra, para os → pros, para as → pras.
Leva isso pro seu pai, por favor.
Take this to your dad, please. (everyday — 'pro' = para + o)
Comprei flores pra minha mãe.
I bought flowers for my mom. (everyday)
The full para is correct everywhere and is what you write in formal contexts. Pra/pro are spoken-register and increasingly accepted in informal writing, but avoided in essays, contracts, and news copy.
A diretoria enviou um comunicado para os funcionários.
The board sent a memo to the employees. (formal written — full 'para')
The 'para mim' vs 'para eu' rule
This is the single most important accuracy point on the page, because English speakers and many native Brazilians get it wrong.
After a preposition, use the tonic object pronoun mim, not the subject pronoun eu.
Esse presente é para mim?
Is this present for me? (correct — 'mim' after the preposition)
Ela fez um bolo só para mim.
She made a cake just for me. (correct)
So why do you sometimes see para eu? Because there is a genuine, narrow exception: when the pronoun is the subject of a following infinitive, it stays as the subject form eu. Compare:
Ela trouxe o relatório para eu revisar.
She brought the report for me to review. (correct — 'eu' is the subject of 'revisar')
Ela trouxe o relatório para mim.
She brought the report for me. (correct — 'mim' is just the recipient, no following verb)
The test: is there a verb right after the pronoun, with the pronoun doing that verb's action? If yes (para eu revisar — I do the reviewing), use eu. If no, the pronoun is a plain recipient — use mim. The same logic applies to para você fazer, para nós decidirmos, etc.
'Com': the special 'with me' forms
One related trap: para takes mim (para mim), but the preposition com ("with") fuses into special forms — comigo ("with me"), contigo ("with you"), conosco ("with us"). You cannot say com mim.
Vem comigo no carro?
Are you coming with me in the car? (correct — never 'com mim')
These are covered fully in the prepositional-pronoun pages; just don't let com mim slip out by analogy with para mim.
Common Mistakes
❌ Esse presente é para eu?
Incorrect — no following verb, so the recipient must be 'mim'.
✅ Esse presente é para mim?
Is this present for me?
❌ Ela trouxe o relatório para mim revisar.
Incorrect — 'mim' cannot be the subject of the infinitive 'revisar'.
✅ Ela trouxe o relatório para eu revisar.
She brought the report for me to review.
❌ Vem com mim?
Incorrect — 'com' + 'mim' must fuse into 'comigo'.
✅ Vem comigo?
Are you coming with me?
❌ Dei o livro para lhe.
Incorrect — 'lhe' is a clitic; after 'para' you need a tonic pronoun (ele/ela/você).
✅ Dei o livro para ele.
I gave the book to him.
❌ Comprei flores para a minha mãe, written as 'pra' in a formal letter.
Avoid the contraction 'pra' in formal writing — use full 'para'.
✅ Comprei flores para a minha mãe.
I bought flowers for my mom. (formal written register)
Key Takeaways
- The Brazilian default indirect object is para + tonic pronoun (para mim, para você, para ele/ela, para nós/a gente, para eles).
- Colloquially para contracts to pra (and pro, pros, pras); keep full para in formal writing.
- This construction replaces the fading clitic lhe in speech.
- Use para mim for a plain recipient, but para eu + verb when you are the subject of a following infinitive.
- com never takes mim — it fuses into comigo.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Indirect Object PronounsA2 — The clitic indirect object pronouns me, te, lhe, nos, lhes — what they mean, how they attach, and why spoken Brazil is quietly replacing 'lhe' with 'para ele/ela'.
- Emphatic 'Mim': After PrepositionsA2 — The tonic pronouns mim, ti, si used after prepositions — why it's 'para mim', never 'para eu', and the one exception.
- Personal Pronouns After PrepositionsA2 — The tonic pronoun set used after prepositions — mim, ti, ele, nós — plus the special fusions comigo and contigo.
- 'Lhe' as Direct Object in BR ColloquialB1 — A genuinely unstable Brazilian shift: 'lhe' — prescriptively an indirect (dative) pronoun — is increasingly used as a direct object and as a polite second-person 'you', especially in the Northeast.
- Indirect Object Doubling ('Para Mim, A Mim')B1 — How Brazilian Portuguese uses tonic phrases like 'para mim' and 'a mim' alongside or instead of clitics — for emphasis, contrast, and clarity — and the cardinal 'para mim' (never 'para eu') rule.