When a personal pronoun follows a preposition — para, de, com, sem, por, entre, and the rest — Portuguese does not always use the same form you would use as a subject. The first and second person singular switch to a special set: mim and ti. Everything else stays the same. This page shows you exactly when the form changes, why it changes, and the small set of contracted forms (comigo, contigo) that you simply have to memorize.
The tonic (disjunctive) set
These pronouns are called tonic (stressed) or disjunctive because they can stand alone and carry sentence stress, unlike the unstressed clitics me, te, o, a. After a preposition, this is the set you reach for:
| Person | Subject form | After a preposition |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | eu | mim |
| 2nd sg. (informal) | tu | ti |
| 2nd sg. (você) | você | você |
| 3rd sg. | ele / ela | ele / ela |
| 3rd reflexive | — | si |
| 1st pl. | nós | nós |
| 2nd pl. | vocês | vocês |
| 3rd pl. | eles / elas | eles / elas |
Esse presente é para mim?
Is this present for me?
Não vou sem você.
I'm not going without you.
Eu fiz tudo por ela.
I did everything for her.
Why eu and tu can't follow a preposition
In English, me, him, us serve as objects in every position: "for me," "give it to me," "she saw me." English collapsed its object pronouns into one set centuries ago. Portuguese kept the older split: eu and tu are subject forms only — they exist to be the doer of a verb. The moment a pronoun becomes the object of a preposition, it is no longer a subject, so the language reaches for the object-capable form: mim, ti.
This is why "para eu" and "de tu" sound flatly wrong to a native ear — it's like saying "for I" or "with thou" in English. The slot after a preposition is grammatically an object slot, and eu/tu are barred from it.
❌ Esse café é para eu.
Incorrect — eu is a subject form, never an object.
✅ Esse café é para mim.
This coffee is for me.
The big exception: para mim vs. para eu + infinitive
There is one construction where you really do say para eu — and it trips up almost every learner. When eu is the subject of a following infinitive, it stays as eu, because it is genuinely the doer of that verb, not the object of the preposition.
Compare:
Ela trouxe um livro para mim.
She brought a book for me. (me = recipient, object of para)
Ela trouxe um livro para eu ler.
She brought a book for me to read. (I = subject of 'ler', the one who reads)
The test: is there an infinitive verb right after the pronoun that the pronoun is doing? If yes, use eu/tu. If the pronoun is just the endpoint of the preposition, use mim/ti.
Não é fácil para mim.
It's not easy for me.
Não é fácil para eu entender isso.
It's not easy for me to understand this.
entre mim e você — not "entre eu e você"
The preposition entre (between) governs both pronouns that follow it, so both must be tonic objects: entre mim e você, entre mim e ela. You will hear "entre eu e você" constantly in casual Brazilian speech — it is extremely common — but it is not standard, and any careful speaker or written text uses mim.
Fica entre mim e você, tá?
Keep this between you and me, okay?
❌ Isso é um segredo entre eu e ela.
Incorrect — both pronouns after entre must be tonic objects.
✅ Isso é um segredo entre mim e ela.
This is a secret between her and me.
com: the fused forms comigo, contigo, conosco, consigo
The preposition com (with) refuses to sit next to a plain tonic pronoun. Instead it fuses into a single word. You cannot say "com mim" or "com ti" — these are simply not Portuguese words.
| com + pronoun | Fused form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| com + mim | comigo | with me |
| com + ti | contigo | with you (informal) |
| com + nós | conosco | with us |
| com + si | consigo | with oneself / himself / herself |
Você quer ir ao cinema comigo?
Do you want to go to the movies with me?
Eu levo o guarda-chuva, fica mais seguro conosco.
I'll take the umbrella, it's safer with us.
Note that com você, com ele, com ela, com eles do not fuse — they stay as two words. Only the four forms above contract. In Brazil, conosco is the standard written and spoken form (Portugal also accepts connosco, with two n's, which you should not use here).
Vem com a gente!
Come with us! (the everyday spoken alternative to conosco)
si and consigo: the reflexive third person
si (and its fused form consigo) is the reflexive tonic pronoun — it refers back to the subject of the sentence. Use it when "himself/herself/themselves" is meant.
Ela só pensa em si mesma.
She only thinks about herself.
Ele trouxe o documento consigo.
He brought the document with him(self).
In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, si/consigo are fairly formal or literary; people often just repeat ele/ela or use com ele/com ela instead. (Note: in European Portuguese, si/consigo are also used as polite "you" forms — that usage does not apply in Brazil.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Esse bolo é para eu.
Incorrect — eu can't be the object of a preposition.
✅ Esse bolo é para mim.
This cake is for me.
❌ Você vai com mim?
Incorrect — com + mim must fuse.
✅ Você vai comigo?
Are you coming with me?
❌ Não consigo viver sem tu.
Incorrect — tu is a subject form; after a preposition use ti.
✅ Não consigo viver sem ti.
I can't live without you.
❌ Entre eu e você não tem segredo.
Incorrect — entre governs both pronouns as objects; use mim.
✅ Entre mim e você não tem segredo.
There are no secrets between you and me.
❌ Trouxe esse café para mim beber.
Incorrect — here the pronoun is the subject of 'beber', so it must be eu.
✅ Trouxe esse café para eu beber.
I brought this coffee for me to drink.
Key Takeaways
- After a preposition, only eu → mim and tu → ti change; all other pronouns keep their subject shape.
- Use eu/tu (not mim/ti) when the pronoun is the subject of a following infinitive: para eu ler, para tu veres.
- com fuses into comigo, contigo, conosco, consigo — never "com mim."
- entre mim e você is the standard form; "entre eu e você" is widespread in speech but not correct.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Subject Pronouns in Brazilian PortugueseA1 — The full Brazilian Portuguese subject pronoun inventory — eu, tu, você, ele/ela, a gente, nós, vocês, eles/elas — how it differs from European Portuguese, and why Brazilians drop subject pronouns less than other Romance speakers.
- 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.
- Comigo, Contigo, Conosco: 'With' FormsA2 — The fused com + pronoun forms — comigo, contigo, consigo, conosco — and why 'com mim' is always wrong but 'com você' is fine.
- Para Ele / Para Ela: Prepositional Indirect ObjectA2 — The dominant Brazilian way to express a recipient: 'para + tonic pronoun' (para mim, para você, para ele) — colloquially 'pra' — which sidesteps the fading clitic 'lhe'.
- Você as Default 2sgA1 — Why você — not tu — is the everyday second-person singular in Brazil, how it takes third-person verb forms, the reduced form cê, and why it is neutral rather than formal (formality is carried by o senhor / a senhora).