Próclise Triggers — Complete List | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

This page is the reference catalogue of próclise triggers in European Portuguese. Every time you write a sentence with a clitic pronoun, you need to check whether there's a trigger in the clause — if yes, the pronoun goes before the verb (próclise); if no, it goes after (ênclise). The triggers fall into seven broad categories, and the goal of this page is to list every item in each category with enough examples to make the pattern stick. Keep this page bookmarked. Intermediate learners return to it constantly.

Category 1 — Negation

Any negative element that precedes the verb in the clause forces próclise. This includes the clausal negator não itself, negative quantifiers, negative adverbs, and the negative conjunction nem.

Full list of negative triggers

Trigger	Meaning	Example
não	not	Não me viste.
nunca	never	Nunca o faço.
jamais	never (emphatic / literary)	Jamais te esquecerei.
nada	nothing	Nada me assusta.
ninguém	nobody	Ninguém nos ajudou.
nenhum / nenhuma	none / no	Nenhuma das cartas me chegou.
nem	nor / not even	Nem o conheço.
nem… nem…	neither… nor…	Nem ele nem ela me ligaram.

Não te disse nada sobre isso.

I didn't tell you anything about that.

Nunca a vi vestida assim.

I've never seen her dressed like that.

Jamais me perdoará, já percebi.

She'll never forgive me, I've realized. (emphatic/literary)

Nada nos impede agora.

Nothing is stopping us now.

Ninguém me contou a verdade.

Nobody told me the truth.

Nenhum aluno se queixou da prova.

No student complained about the test.

Nem me fales nisso.

Don't even mention it to me.

Nem o João nem a Ana te chamaram.

Neither João nor Ana called you.

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Negation is the most predictable próclise trigger. Any time you see não, nunca, nada, ninguém, nenhum, or nem before the verb, the pronoun is before the verb. If you remember nothing else from this page, remember this category.

Category 2 — Subordinating Conjunctions

Every subordinating conjunction that introduces a clause acts as a próclise trigger for its own clause. This is a huge category — essentially every "because," "when," "if," "that," "although," etc. — and it's why subordinate clauses almost always show próclise.

Completive / declarative

Trigger	Meaning	Example
que	that	Disse que me esperava.
se	if, whether	Perguntou se te conhecia.

Ele garantiu que me devolvia o dinheiro.

He assured me he would give me the money back.

Perguntei-lhe se a encontrava em casa às seis.

I asked him whether he'd find her at home at six.

Temporal

Trigger	Meaning	Example
quando	when	Quando me vires, acena.
enquanto	while	Enquanto te esperava...
antes que	before	Antes que te esqueças...
depois que / depois de	after	Depois que te vi...
assim que	as soon as	Assim que a virmos...
logo que	as soon as	Logo que me chamares...
sempre que	whenever	Sempre que me vê, sorri.
desde que	since	Desde que te conheço...
até que	until	Espera até que te chamem.

Quando me ligares, estarei em casa.

When you call me, I'll be at home.

Enquanto me esperavas, fui fazer compras.

While you were waiting for me, I went shopping.

Avisa-me antes que te vás embora.

Let me know before you leave.

Assim que o vires, manda-me mensagem.

As soon as you see him, send me a message.

Sempre que a encontro, conversamos um bocado.

Whenever I meet her, we chat a bit.

Causal / explanatory

Trigger	Meaning
porque	because
visto que	given that
já que	since / given that
uma vez que	once / given that
como (= because, at clause start)	as, since

Estou chateado porque me mentiste.

I'm upset because you lied to me.

Já que te interessas, explico-te tudo.

Since you're interested, I'll explain everything to you.

Como o conhecia desde pequeno, confiei nele.

Since I had known him since we were little, I trusted him.

Final (purpose)

Trigger	Meaning
para que	so that
a fim de que	in order that
de modo que	such that

Falei alto para que me ouvissem bem.

I spoke loudly so they would hear me well.

Arrumei tudo de modo que o encontrasses facilmente.

I organized everything so that you'd find it easily.

Concessive

Trigger	Meaning
embora	although
ainda que	even though
mesmo que	even if
nem que	even if
por mais que	no matter how much

Embora o conheça há anos, ainda me surpreende.

Although I've known him for years, he still surprises me.

Ainda que me pedissem, não o faria.

Even if they asked me, I wouldn't do it.

Por mais que o tente, não consigo.

No matter how hard I try (it), I can't do it.

Conditional

Trigger	Meaning
se	if
caso	in case (subjunctive)
desde que (= provided that)	provided that
a menos que / a não ser que	unless

Se me convidarem, vou com certeza.

If they invite me, I'll definitely go.

Caso a vejas, diz-lhe para me ligar.

In case you see her, tell her to call me.

Ajudo-te desde que me avises com tempo.

I'll help you provided you give me notice.

Comparative / manner

Trigger	Meaning
como (= like, as)	as, like
conforme	as, according to
à medida que	as (gradual)

Fá-lo como te disseram.

Do it the way they told you.

À medida que me ia explicando, tudo ficou claro.

As he kept explaining to me, everything became clear.

Category 3 — Interrogative and Relative Words

Wh-words — used either to ask questions or to introduce relative clauses — trigger próclise.

Interrogatives (in wh-questions)

Trigger	Meaning	Example
quem	who	Quem te viu?
que / o que	what	Que te disse ele?
qual / quais	which	Qual te parece melhor?
onde	where	Onde o puseste?
como	how	Como a conheceste?
quando	when	Quando te avisaram?
quanto / quanta / quantos / quantas	how much / how many	Quantos te convidaram?
porque / por que	why	Por que te chateaste?

Quem te contou essa história?

Who told you that story?

O que te parece a ideia?

What do you think of the idea?

Onde a compraste?

Where did you buy it (f.)?

Como o convenceste a vir?

How did you convince him to come?

Quantos livros te emprestou?

How many books did he/she lend you?

Por que me ligaste tão tarde?

Why did you call me so late?

Relatives (in relative clauses)

Trigger	Meaning
que	who / that / which
quem (after a preposition)	whom
o qual / a qual / os quais / as quais	which / who (formal)
cujo / cuja / cujos / cujas	whose
onde	where
quando	when

A pessoa que me ajudou foi a Ana.

The person who helped me was Ana.

O livro que te emprestei está ótimo.

The book I lent you is great.

A amiga com quem te falei chega hoje.

The friend I told you about arrives today.

A casa na qual o conheci já não existe.

The house where I met him no longer exists.

O autor cujos livros te recomendei morreu ontem.

The author whose books I recommended to you died yesterday.

No bairro onde te criaram, tudo mudou.

In the neighbourhood where they raised you, everything has changed.

Category 4 — Proclitic Adverbs

A specific, closed list of adverbs and adverbial expressions triggers próclise when it precedes the verb. These aren't just "any" adverb — most adverbs of time (hoje, ontem, amanhã, agora) do not trigger próclise. The list is limited.

Core proclitic adverbs

Trigger	Meaning	Example
já	already, now	Já te disse.
ainda	still, yet	Ainda o procuro.
sempre	always, indeed	Sempre me ajudou muito.
só / somente	only	Só me lembrei agora.
apenas	only, just	Apenas a conheço de vista.
também	also, too	Também me chamaram a mim.
ainda assim	even so	Ainda assim me ajudou.
até (= even)	even	Até me emprestou dinheiro.
nunca / jamais	never (also negation)	Nunca a vi.

Já me esqueci do que ele disse.

I've already forgotten what he said.

Ainda te lembras dela?

Do you still remember her?

Sempre me tratou com respeito.

He/she always treated me with respect.

Só te peço uma coisa.

I only ask you one thing.

Apenas o vi uma vez, há anos.

I only saw him once, years ago.

Também me convidaram, afinal.

They invited me too, after all.

Até me ofereceu boleia para casa.

He/she even offered me a ride home.

These trigger próclise and often (not always) co-occur with the subjunctive:

Trigger	Meaning
talvez	maybe
possivelmente	possibly
provavelmente	probably
porventura	perhaps (literary)
acaso	by chance, perhaps

Talvez te ligue à noite.

Maybe I'll call you tonight.

Possivelmente o vejo amanhã.

I'll possibly see him tomorrow.

Provavelmente a encontrarás na biblioteca.

You'll probably find her at the library.

Adverbs that do not trigger próclise

Contrastive examples. In these, the adverb precedes the verb but does not force próclise — so ênclise is preserved:

Ontem encontrei-o no café.

Yesterday I ran into him at the café. (ênclise — 'ontem' is not a trigger)

Hoje chama-se assim, mas ninguém sabe porquê.

Today it's called this, but nobody knows why. (ênclise — 'hoje' is not a trigger)

Agora vejo-a todos os dias.

I see her every day now. (ênclise — 'agora' is not a trigger)

Lentamente fui-me habituando.

I slowly got used to it. (ênclise — '-mente' adverbs generally not triggers)

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The adverb trigger list is short and closed — já, ainda, sempre, só, apenas, também, até, talvez, possivelmente, provavelmente. Time-of-day adverbs like ontem, hoje, amanhã, agora are not triggers. Neither are manner adverbs in -mente (in most contexts).

Category 5 — Indefinite / Quantified Subjects

When the subject of the clause is an indefinite pronoun or a quantifier (alone or with a noun), it triggers próclise.

Indefinite pronouns

Trigger	Meaning	Example
alguém	somebody	Alguém me ligou.
ninguém	nobody	Ninguém a viu.
algo	something	Algo me incomoda.
tudo	everything	Tudo me lembra dela.
nada	nothing	Nada te impede.
outro / outra / outros / outras (as subject)	another / others	Outros me disseram o mesmo.

Alguém te procurou na recepção.

Somebody was looking for you at reception.

Ninguém me tinha avisado antes.

Nobody had warned me before.

Algo me diz que vamos encontrá-la.

Something tells me we're going to find her.

Tudo nos parece diferente desde que vocês chegaram.

Everything seems different to us since you arrived.

Outros te dirão o contrário, mas é a minha opinião.

Others will tell you the opposite, but that's my opinion.

Indefinite determiners + noun as subject

Trigger	Meaning
algum / alguma / alguns / algumas	some
nenhum / nenhuma	no / none
qualquer	any
muitos / muitas	many
poucos / poucas	few
vários / várias	several
todos / todas	all, everyone
ambos / ambas	both
cada um / cada uma	each one

Algumas pessoas nos reconheceram na rua.

Some people recognised us on the street.

Qualquer um te pode confirmar isso.

Anyone can confirm that for you.

Muitos o consideram o melhor da geração.

Many consider him the best of his generation.

Poucos me entenderam naquela altura.

Few understood me at that time.

Todos a cumprimentaram à chegada.

Everyone greeted her on arrival.

Ambos nos olharam como se fôssemos loucos.

They both looked at us as if we were crazy.

Category 6 — Focalised and Fronted Elements

Certain preverbal elements are focalised — placed at the front of the clause to receive emphasis. Focalisation often triggers próclise, especially with adverbial phrases and emphatic elements.

Só a ele o disse.

Only to him did I say it.

Com ela me casaria.

It's her I would marry. (emphatic)

A ti te falo.

It's you I'm talking to. (emphatic fronting)

Mais depressa o conseguirás assim.

You'll get it faster this way.

In everyday EP, this pattern is most visible with adverbs of negative or restrictive meaning (só, apenas, nem), and with fronted prepositional phrases carrying contrastive emphasis. In neutral fronting (e.g., a neutral topicalised time phrase like "Ontem"), ênclise is preserved.

Category 7 — Special Structures

Em + gerund (archaic/literary)

A construction with em + gerund places the gerund in a time/cause relation to the main clause. It triggers próclise, but is rarely heard in modern speech; it lives in formal writing and older literature.

Em a vendo, reconheci-a imediatamente.

Upon seeing her, I recognized her immediately. (literary)

Em te levantando, chama-me.

Once you get up, call me. (archaic/literary)

Optative exclamations

Exclamations with "may..." meanings (often subjunctive) can trigger próclise:

Deus me livre!

God keep me (from that)! (fixed expression)

Oxalá te vejam em breve.

Hopefully they'll see you soon.

Oxalá (derived from Arabic inshallah) is both an adverb of hope and a próclise trigger, typically followed by the subjunctive.

Certain comparative and additive structures

Tanto ele como ela me decepcionaram.

Both he and she let me down.

Tão simpaticamente me recebeu que fiquei comovido.

He/she received me so warmly that I was moved.

Category 8 — Relative Clauses (restated)

This overlaps with Category 3, but it's worth singling out because of how frequent it is: every relative clause introduced by que, quem, o qual, cujo, onde, quando is a próclise environment. If you write a sentence with a relative clause, expect próclise inside it.

O homem que me cumprimentou era o teu tio.

The man who greeted me was your uncle.

A pessoa de quem te falei chega hoje.

The person I told you about arrives today.

O restaurante onde o vi fechou.

The restaurant where I saw him closed down.

A noite em que nos conhecemos foi mágica.

The night we met was magical.

Edge cases and subtleties

Triggers separated from the verb

A trigger continues to force próclise even if it's not directly adjacent to the verb, as long as it's in the same clause. Intervening adverbs, adjectives, or short parenthetical phrases don't cancel the trigger.

Nunca, em toda a minha vida, te tinha visto assim.

Never, in my whole life, had I seen you like that.

Já, felizmente, me ligaram da clínica.

They've already, fortunately, called me from the clinic.

Two triggers in one clause

When a clause has multiple potential triggers (e.g., a subordinator + a negation), the result is still próclise. They stack:

...porque não te conhecia.

...because I didn't know you. (both 'porque' and 'não' are triggers)

...se nunca o encontrares.

...if you never find him. (both 'se' and 'nunca')

Coordination breaks the trigger

If you coordinate two clauses with e (and), mas (but), or ou (or), the second clause starts fresh. A trigger in the first clause does not reach into the second.

Não o vi ontem, mas encontrei-o hoje.

I didn't see him yesterday, but I ran into him today. (2nd clause: no trigger → ênclise)

Quem te viu e te cumprimentou?

Who saw you and greeted you? (single clause under 'quem' — próclise in both parts)

Note the difference: in the first, mas starts a new clause, so encontrei-o is ênclise. In the second, both te viu and te cumprimentou are inside the single quem-question, so both take próclise.

Neutral preverbal subjects do not trigger

Worth repeating: a plain definite noun-phrase subject is not a trigger. Ênclise persists.

O Pedro viu-me no centro.

Pedro saw me downtown. (ênclise)

A minha vizinha convidou-me para o jantar.

My neighbour invited me for dinner. (ênclise)

As crianças cumprimentaram-nos à porta.

The children greeted us at the door. (ênclise)

Indefinite and quantified subjects, however, do trigger. The contrast o Pedro (ênclise) vs. alguém (próclise) is one of the cleanest tests.

Summary reference table

Category	Typical triggers	Example
Negation	não, nunca, jamais, nada, ninguém, nenhum, nem	Não me viu.
Subordinators	que, se, quando, porque, embora, ainda que, etc.	Disse que o conhecia.
Interrogative/Relative	quem, que, qual, onde, como, quanto, cujo	Quem te chamou?
Proclitic adverbs	já, ainda, sempre, só, apenas, também, talvez, até	Já te disse.
Indefinite subjects	alguém, ninguém, tudo, nada, todos, muitos, poucos	Ninguém me ajudou.
Focalised elements	Só a ele, A ti, Com ela...	Só a ela o disse.
Special structures	em + gerund, optatives, oxalá	Oxalá te vejam.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: treating definite subjects as triggers

❌ O João me viu.

Incorrect in EP — definite NP subjects are not triggers. Use ênclise.

✅ O João viu-me.

João saw me.

Mistake 2: missing that "tanto... como..." triggers próclise

❌ Tanto ele como ela decepcionaram-me.

Many speakers accept this, but careful EP treats 'tanto... como...' as a proclitic construction.

✅ Tanto ele como ela me decepcionaram.

Both he and she let me down.

Mistake 3: forgetting próclise in relative clauses

❌ A pessoa que ajudou-me.

Incorrect — 'que' as a relative pronoun triggers próclise.

✅ A pessoa que me ajudou.

The person who helped me.

Mistake 4: assuming every adverb triggers próclise

❌ Ontem o vi no café.

Incorrect — 'ontem' is not a proclitic adverb. Use ênclise.

✅ Ontem vi-o no café.

Yesterday I saw him at the café.

✅ Já o vi no café. (já is a trigger)

I've already seen him at the café.

Mistake 5: skipping próclise after 'talvez'

❌ Talvez chamo-te logo.

Incorrect for two reasons: 'talvez' triggers próclise AND requires subjunctive.

✅ Talvez te chame logo.

Maybe I'll call you later.

Mistake 6: extending a trigger across coordinated clauses

❌ Não o vi ontem, mas encontrei-o hoje → Não o vi ontem, mas o encontrei hoje.

Incorrect — the 'mas'-clause is a new clause with no trigger; use ênclise.

✅ Não o vi ontem, mas encontrei-o hoje.

I didn't see him yesterday, but I ran into him today.

Mistake 7: forgetting clitic climbing under triggers

When a trigger is present, the pronoun climbs to the front of the verbal complex — it doesn't stay on the infinitive.

❌ Não vou chamar-te.

Careful EP: the trigger 'não' pulls the pronoun in front of 'vou'.

✅ Não te vou chamar.

I'm not going to call you.

Key Takeaways

Próclise triggers fall into seven categories: negation, subordinators, interrogative/relative words, proclitic adverbs, indefinite/quantified subjects, focalised elements, and special structures.
The adverb list is closed — only certain adverbs trigger próclise (já, ainda, sempre, só, apenas, também, até, talvez, possivelmente, provavelmente). Most others (time adverbs like ontem, hoje, amanhã, and most manner adverbs) do not.
Definite noun-phrase subjects are not triggers; indefinite/quantified subjects are.
Triggers apply within a clause; coordinated clauses are independent. A trigger in one clause doesn't carry into the next.
When multiple triggers appear in a single clause, próclise applies regardless.
In compound tenses under a trigger, the pronoun climbs to the front of the verbal complex (before the auxiliary).
This page is a reference — return to it whenever you're unsure whether a specific word triggers próclise.