Mesóclise Formation — Step by Step

Mesóclise — the pattern vê-lo-ei, dir-lhe-ia, far-se-á — is built by inserting a clitic pronoun between the future/conditional stem and the tense ending. The structure itself is clean: stem + hyphen + clitic + hyphen + ending. The difficulty is that the stem may contract (especially in fazer, dizer, trazer, pôr), the pronoun may adapt phonologically (o → lo after -r), and the resulting stem may need a new accent to mark its stressed vowel. This page walks through every step of the formation, starting from the infinitive and ending with the fully written form. After working through the examples here, you should be able to produce any mesoclitic form in Portuguese from scratch.

The overall formula

To form a mesoclitic verb, you need three pieces:

1. The stem — usually the infinitive minus the final -r. A few irregular verbs (fazer, dizer, trazer, pôr) have a contracted stem (far-, dir-, trar-, por-). This is the same stem used to form the future and conditional proper.
2. The clitic pronoun — attached with a hyphen. If the pronoun is o/a/os/as, it adapts phonologically because the stem ends in -r (or -z in old forms): o → lo, a → la, etc.
3. The tense ending — future endings (-ei, -ás, -á, -emos, -eis, -ão) or conditional endings (-ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -íeis, -iam). Attached with a second hyphen.

And crucially: when the stem is altered (loss of -r, new stress position), an accent may be required to keep the stressed vowel visible.

Think of mesóclise as a three-part compound: [stem] - [clitic] - [ending]. The hyphens aren't optional. The accent is placed wherever the natural spoken stress of the stem falls.

Step 1: Identify the stem

The mesoclitic stem is exactly the same as the future stem — it's the infinitive with its final -r removed, except for four verbs which have irregular contracted stems.

Infinitive	Future stem	Notes
falar (to speak)	falar-	Regular: keep the infinitive as stem
comer (to eat)	comer-	Regular
partir (to leave)	partir-	Regular
ver (to see)	ver-	Regular
dar (to give)	dar-	Regular
ir (to go)	ir-	Regular
pôr (to put)	por-	Regular, stem without the circumflex
fazer (to do)	far-	Irregular contracted stem
dizer (to say)	dir-	Irregular contracted stem
trazer (to bring)	trar-	Irregular contracted stem

Note that this is exactly the same stem you already know from the future indicative — farei, direi, trarei, porei — and from the conditional — faria, diria, traria, poria. The mesoclitic construction takes that same stem and splits it from its ending.

Step 2: Insert the clitic pronoun

Any of the clitic pronouns can be inserted: me, te, se, lhe, nos, vos, lhes, o, a, os, as (or the combined forms mo, to, lho, no-lo, vo-lo, lho/lha/lhos/lhas).

The insertion is mechanical: stem + hyphen + clitic + hyphen + ending.

Stem	Pronoun	Ending (fut.)	Full future form
falar-	-me-	-ei	falar-me-ei
falar-	-te-	-ei	falar-te-ei
falar-	-lhe-	-ei	falar-lhe-ei
falar-	-nos-	-emos	falar-nos-emos
falar-	-vos-	-ão	falar-vos-ão

For me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes, se, the insertion is simple: no phonological change, just attach with hyphens. For o, a, os, as, the phonological rule applies (next step).

Step 3: Phonological adaptation of o/a/os/as

Here is where most of the complexity lives. Because the stem always ends in -r (or, historically, -z in a few archaic forms), the pronouns o, a, os, as cannot attach in their bare form: the cluster -r + o would be phonologically awkward. Instead, Portuguese applies the same rule you already know from Direct Object Pronoun Contractions:

• The verb stem loses its final -r.
• The pronoun gains an initial l- → lo, la, los, las.
• The new stressed vowel at the end of the truncated stem receives a graphic accent (acute or circumflex depending on the vowel quality).

Infinitive	Stem (loses -r)	o	future -ei	Full form
falar → fala-	fala-	falá-lo	falá-lo-ei	falá-lo-ei
comer → come-	come-	comê-lo	comê-lo-ei	comê-lo-ei
partir → parti-	parti-	parti-lo	parti-lo-ei	parti-lo-ei (no accent — final i)
pôr → po-	po-	pô-lo	pô-lo-ei	pô-lo-ei
fazer → far-	fa- (fur. loses -r too)	fá-lo	fá-lo-ei	fá-lo-ei
dizer → dir-	di- (contracted, then loses -r)	di-lo	di-lo-ei	di-lo-ei (no accent — stressed i)
trazer → trar-	tra- (contracted, then loses -r)	trá-lo	trá-lo-ei	trá-lo-ei

The accent rule follows the same logic as ênclise contractions: the vowel of the truncated stem is now word-final-ish and stressed, so it needs a graphic accent to preserve the correct pronunciation. The specific accent depends on the vowel:

Stem vowel (after losing -r)	Accent type	Example
a (from -ar conjugation)	acute: á	falá-lo-ei, amá-la-íamos
e (from -er conjugation)	circumflex: ê	comê-lo-ei, vê-lo-ás
i (from -ir conjugation)	no accent needed (already stressed)	parti-lo-ei, senti-lo-ás
o (from pôr)	circumflex: ô	pô-lo-ei, compô-la-íamos
a (contracted far-, trar-)	acute: á	fá-lo-ei, trá-lo-ias
i (contracted dir-)	no accent (stressed i)	di-lo-ei

Step 4: Select the tense ending

The endings are the same as for the plain future or conditional — nothing special happens here. Just attach the correct person-ending after the pronoun with a hyphen.

Future indicative endings

Person	Ending	Example (with stem ver- + clitic lo)
eu	-ei	vê-lo-ei
tu	-ás	vê-lo-ás
ele/ela/você	-á	vê-lo-á
nós	-emos	vê-lo-emos
vós	-eis	vê-lo-eis
eles/elas/vocês	-ão	vê-lo-ão

Conditional endings

Person	Ending	Example (with stem ver- + clitic lo)
eu	-ia	vê-lo-ia
tu	-ias	vê-lo-ias
ele/ela/você	-ia	vê-lo-ia
nós	-íamos	vê-lo-íamos
vós	-íeis	vê-lo-íeis
eles/elas/vocês	-iam	vê-lo-iam

Worked examples — step by step

Let's build several mesoclitic forms from scratch, showing every operation.

Example 1: fazer + o + eu (future)

Target: "I will do it."

1. Infinitive: fazer (to do)
2. Future stem: far- (irregular contraction)
3. Pronoun: o (3rd sg. masculine direct object)
4. Because the stem ends in -r and the pronoun is o, the -r drops and the pronoun becomes lo.
5. The stem is now fa-. The vowel a is the new stressed vowel, so it takes an acute accent: fá-.
6. Tense ending: -ei (1st sg. future).
7. Assemble with hyphens: fá-lo-ei.

Example 2: dizer + lhe + eu (future)

Target: "I will tell him/her."

1. Infinitive: dizer (to say)
2. Future stem: dir- (irregular contraction)
3. Pronoun: lhe (3rd sg. indirect object)
4. The pronoun lhe doesn't undergo any phonological change (no l- gain, no n- gain — it's already *l-*initial). Just attach with hyphens.
5. No accent change needed.
6. Tense ending: -ei.
7. Assemble: dir-lhe-ei.

Example 3: dar + se + ele (future)

Target: "It will be given / will happen."

1. Infinitive: dar (to give)
2. Future stem: dar-
3. Pronoun: se (reflexive / impersonal 3rd person)
4. Se doesn't change phonologically.
5. The stem dar- doesn't lose its -r because the pronoun se isn't o/a/os/as.
6. Tense ending: -á (3rd sg.).
7. Assemble: dar-se-á.

Example 4: ver + o + nós (future)

Target: "We will see him."

1. Infinitive: ver (to see)
2. Future stem: ver-
3. Pronoun: o → lo (because stem ends in -r).
4. Stem loses its -r → ve-. New stressed vowel e takes a circumflex → vê-.
5. Tense ending: -emos (1st pl. future).
6. Assemble: vê-lo-emos.

Example 5: pôr + a + tu (conditional)

Target: "You would put it (f.)."

1. Infinitive: pôr (to put)
2. Future/conditional stem: por- (note: the infinitive has the circumflex pôr, but the stem drops it to por-).
3. Pronoun: a → la (after -r).
4. Stem loses its -r → po-. The o is the new stressed vowel and gets a circumflex → pô-.
5. Tense ending (conditional 2nd sg.): -ias.
6. Assemble: pô-la-ias.

Example 6: trazer + as + eles (future)

Target: "They will bring them (f.)."

1. Infinitive: trazer (to bring)
2. Future stem: trar- (irregular contraction)
3. Pronoun: as → las (after -r).
4. Stem loses -r → tra-. New stressed vowel a takes acute → trá-.
5. Tense ending: -ão (3rd pl. future).
6. Assemble: trá-las-ão.

Example 7: encontrar + nos (reflexive) + nós (conditional)

Target: "We would meet (each other)."

1. Infinitive: encontrar (to meet)
2. Stem: encontrar-
3. Pronoun: nos (reflexive, 1st pl.). No phonological change.
4. Stem doesn't lose its -r because the pronoun isn't o/a/os/as.
5. Tense ending (conditional 1st pl.): -íamos.
6. However: when the stem ends in -r and the next pronoun starts with n-, it's actually fine — there's no consonant conflict. But note that nos has a particular fused form: some analyses treat -r + nos as producing no change (hence encontrar-nos-íamos). So:
7. Assemble: encontrar-nos-íamos.

Example 8: combined pronouns — dar + lho (= lhe + o) + eu (future)

Target: "I will give it to him/her."

1. Infinitive: dar
2. Stem: dar-
3. Combined pronoun: lho (lhe + o). Already fused. No further phonological change needed because the clitic already starts with l-.
4. Actually note: lho already contains the l- that comes from the o-pronoun's adaptation. So the stem does NOT lose its -r here — the fusion already happened before insertion.
5. Tense ending: -ei.
6. Assemble: dar-lho-ei.

This example deserves care: if you tried to insert lhe + o separately, you would get nonsense. The fusion to lho is a separate operation that happens in ênclise and is carried into mesóclise intact.

Reference conjugation tables

falar (to speak) + lhe + future indicative

Person	Mesoclitic future
eu	falar-lhe-ei
tu	falar-lhe-ás
ele/ela/você	falar-lhe-á
nós	falar-lhe-emos
vós	falar-lhe-eis
eles/elas/vocês	falar-lhe-ão

ver (to see) + o → lo + conditional

Person	Mesoclitic conditional
eu	vê-lo-ia
tu	vê-lo-ias
ele/ela/você	vê-lo-ia
nós	vê-lo-íamos
vós	vê-lo-íeis
eles/elas/vocês	vê-lo-iam

fazer (to do) + se + future indicative

Person	Mesoclitic future
eu	far-me-ei (reflexive 1st sg.)
tu	far-te-ás
ele/ela/você	far-se-á
nós	far-nos-emos
vós	far-vos-eis
eles/elas/vocês	far-se-ão

dar (to give) + me + conditional

Person	Mesoclitic conditional
eu	dar-me-ia (reflexive 1st sg.)
tu	dar-me-ias
ele/ela/você	dar-me-ia
nós	dar-me-íamos (only with distinct person)
vós	dar-me-íeis
eles/elas/vocês	dar-me-iam

dizer (to say) + lhe + future indicative

Person	Mesoclitic future
eu	dir-lhe-ei
tu	dir-lhe-ás
ele/ela/você	dir-lhe-á
nós	dir-lhe-emos
vós	dir-lhe-eis
eles/elas/vocês	dir-lhe-ão

The pronoun-specific subtleties

Pronouns that don't change: me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes, se

These pronouns keep their form unchanged in mesóclise. The stem also does NOT lose its -r because no l- rule is triggered.

Pronouns that do change: o, a, os, as

These become lo, la, los, las after the stem's -r; the stem loses its -r and may gain an accent.

Combined pronouns: mo, to, lho, no-lo, vo-lo, lho/lha/lhos/lhas

The combined forms are inserted as single units. Because they already start with consonants that don't conflict with the stem's -r, no further change is needed.

The special case: nos and vos followed by -os/-as

In very formal writing you sometimes see fused forms like dar-no-las-ão (nos + as → no-las). The -s of nos/vos drops before the l-. These are rare and encyclopedic; normal speech just uses the periphrastic future.

Accent placement — the common errors

The accent on the truncated stem (after losing -r) is the single most error-prone part of mesóclise formation. Here's a checklist:

If the stem ends in...	The accent is...	Example
-á- (from -ar conjugation)	acute: á	falá-lo-ei, amá-la-íamos, pagá-los-emos
-ê- (from -er conjugation)	circumflex: ê	comê-lo-ei, vê-la-ás, lê-los-íamos
-i- (from -ir conjugation)	no accent (stress is inherent)	parti-lo-ei, senti-la-ás, abri-los-íamos
-ô- (from pôr)	circumflex: ô	pô-lo-ei, compô-la-íamos
-á- (from far-, trar-)	acute: á	fá-lo-ei, trá-las-ão
-i- (from dir-)	no accent	di-lo-ei, di-la-ias

A mnemonic: -ar verbs take acute, -er verbs take circumflex, -ir verbs take no accent, pôr takes circumflex, fazer/trazer take acute, dizer takes no accent.

Reading mesoclitic forms fluently

To read mesoclitic forms without stumbling, decompose them mentally:

1. Find the pronoun in the middle.
2. Read the stem on the left.
3. Read the tense ending on the right.
4. Reconstruct the basic verb form by combining the stem and ending.

For example: dar-no-las-ão → pronoun is no-las (= nos + as); stem is dar-; ending is -ão → future 3rd pl. of dar. Meaning: "they will give them (f.) to us."

With practice, your eye will start picking out the clitic in the middle of the word automatically, and the whole form will snap into focus.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: forgetting the stem contraction for fazer/dizer/trazer

Mistake 2: missing the accent on the truncated stem

Mistake 3: wrong accent type

Mistake 4: dropping the final -r before the wrong pronouns

The -r drops only before o/a/os/as. It does NOT drop before other pronouns.

Mistake 5: hyphen errors

Mesóclise always has two hyphens, flanking the pronoun.

Mistake 6: using mesóclise when próclise is required

This is a placement mistake, not a formation mistake, but it's so common it deserves the reminder.

Mistake 7: applying mesóclise to tenses other than future/conditional

Key Takeaways

• The mesoclitic formula is stem + hyphen + clitic + hyphen + ending — always two hyphens.
• The stem is the same as the future/conditional stem: the infinitive minus -r for regular verbs; the contracted stems far-, dir-, trar- for fazer, dizer, trazer; and por- (no circumflex) for pôr.
• If the clitic is o, a, os, as, the stem loses its final -r and the pronoun becomes lo, la, los, las. The newly stressed stem vowel takes an accent: acute for -a- (from -ar and contracted far-/trar-), circumflex for -e- (from -er) and -o- (from pôr), and no accent for -i- (from -ir and contracted dir-).
• Other pronouns (me, te, se, lhe, nos, vos, lhes, combined mo/to/lho/etc.) don't undergo phonological change; the stem keeps its -r; just attach with hyphens.
• The tense endings are the regular future (-ei, -ás, -á, -emos, -eis, -ão) and conditional (-ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -íeis, -iam) — no change.
• Mesóclise is only valid when no próclise trigger is in the clause. If a trigger is present, you write simple próclise (não o verei, quem o verá), not mesóclise.
• Remember: verei-o and similar ênclise-on-future forms are ungrammatical in formal EP. Future/conditional without a trigger must take mesóclise.