Combined Pronouns with Infinitives

When a European Portuguese sentence has an auxiliary or a modal verb followed by an infinitive — quero dizer, vou dar, tenho de mostrar, posso explicar — any combined object pronoun has two possible homes: attached to the infinitive, or positioned with the finite verb. In ordinary affirmative sentences, the pronoun normally attaches to the infinitive with a hyphen (quero dizer-mo, vou dar-lho, posso explicar-to). But when a proclisis trigger like não is present, the pronoun can climb up to the finite verb and sit in front of it: não mo quero dizer, não lho vou dar, não to posso explicar. This movement is known as clitic climbing, and it is one of the more elegant features of EP syntax.

This page explains both placements, shows the full range of auxiliary + infinitive constructions in which combined pronouns appear, lays out when climbing is optional and when it is essentially obligatory, and treats the register and rhythm considerations that shape the choice in actual EP speech.

The basic pattern: pronouns attach to the infinitive

In a simple affirmative sentence with an auxiliary + infinitive structure, the fused pronoun attaches to the end of the infinitive with a hyphen. The infinitive keeps its final -r when the combined pronoun begins with a consonant (m-, t-, lh-, n-, v-); no -lo/-la alternation is triggered.

Notice that the finite verb (quero, vou, tenho, podemos, promete) remains untouched. The infinitive (dizer, dar, mostrar, entregar, oferecer) receives the combined pronoun as an enclitic.

This is the default placement — comfortable, unremarkable, and always correct.

Clitic climbing: when a proclisis trigger pulls the pronoun forward

A proclisis trigger is a word or construction that forces the pronoun to sit in front of the verb. The most common triggers are:

• Negation: não, nunca, jamais, ninguém, nada, nem.
• Wh-words: quem, o que, qual, onde, quando, como, porquê.
• Certain adverbs: só, também, já, ainda, sempre, talvez.
• Certain conjunctions: que, porque, se, embora, enquanto, quando, como, antes que, logo que.
• Certain indefinites: alguém, alguma coisa, algum, pouco, muito, tudo.

For a comprehensive list, see Próclise Triggers. The key point here: when a proclisis trigger appears anywhere to the left of the verb cluster, the combined pronoun can climb up from the infinitive to land in front of the finite verb.

In each of these pairs, the pronoun moves from the end of the infinitive to a position in front of the finite verb, without a hyphen. The meaning is preserved; only the clitic position changes.

Is climbing obligatory?

This is the subtlest question in the topic, and one worth getting precisely right. The short answer is: with a clear proclisis trigger, climbing is strongly preferred but not strictly obligatory — and both the climbed and the non-climbed versions are used by educated speakers in slightly different registers and rhythms.

Both forms are correct

Both are grammatical EP. The climbed form tends to sound slightly more formal, tighter, and more "written"; the non-climbed form (which keeps the pronoun with the infinitive) is very common in spoken EP.

In formal writing, climbing dominates

Academic prose, journalism, legal writing, and literary fiction almost always climb the clitic when a proclisis trigger is present. The climbed form is considered the neutral, unmarked choice in formal EP.

In speech, both are alive, with non-climbing slightly more casual

Spoken EP is more relaxed. A speaker might equally say não lho quero dizer (climbed) or não quero dizer-lho (non-climbed). The choice often comes down to rhythm and emphasis.

Both are idiomatic. A native speaker produces either without thinking.

When climbing is not possible

Climbing requires a syntactic relationship between the finite verb and the infinitive — typically, an auxiliary or modal verb that takes a bare infinitive as its complement. Climbing cannot cross:

• A subject noun phrase (the climbed pronoun can't skip over a full noun subject).
• A subordinate clause boundary (que-clauses, conditional se-clauses).
• Certain infinitive constructions that aren't true auxiliary structures.

In practice, this means: when an infinitive is not the complement of a single finite auxiliary, the pronoun stays with the infinitive.

With para + infinitive (purpose clause)

With subordinate que clauses

In this sentence, lho belongs to the embedded clause (que) ia mandar-lho, and cannot climb up to disse-me. The que creates a clause boundary that the clitic can't cross.

With a + infinitive (continuous aspect)

With estar a + infinitive, the combined pronoun sits on the infinitive by default (estou a dizer-to). Under negation, climbing is possible (não to estou a dizer), and this is actually quite common in EP because the progressive is frequent. But the non-climbed form (não estou a dizer-to) also works. Both are heard.

Chain of three verbs: tricky but navigable

Sometimes you stack a third verb in: vou poder dizer, tenho de começar a mostrar, posso estar a explicar. With a combined pronoun, the same logic applies — with climbing landing on the finite verb, if a trigger allows it.

Climbing in three-verb chains is especially common in formal writing. In speech, speakers tend to place the pronoun on the infinitive closest to the action — which is typically the last infinitive in the chain.

What you cannot do: split the fused pronoun

The combined pronoun always travels as a unit. You cannot split it across two verb positions. Whichever position it lands in, both halves go together.

The combined pronoun is a single entity in the grammar, even if its two halves (IO and DO) originated as separate pronouns.

Patterns with the most frequent auxiliaries

Here is a practice tour through the most common auxiliary + infinitive patterns, each with a combined pronoun.

ir + infinitive (near future)

querer + infinitive (desire)

poder + infinitive (possibility/permission)

dever + infinitive (obligation, probability)

ter de / ter que + infinitive (strong obligation)

começar a / acabar de / voltar a + infinitive (aspectual)

Clitic climbing with the progressive (estar a + infinitive)

European Portuguese uses estar a + infinitive as its progressive construction (where Brazilian Portuguese uses estar + gerund). With combined pronouns, the progressive behaves just like any other auxiliary + infinitive pairing.

In the progressive, clitic climbing is quite common because the progressive is so frequent in EP. Learners often hear the climbed form more than the non-climbed form.

The compound tenses (ter + past participle)

Note that compound perfect tenses (tenho dito, tinha mostrado) do not involve an infinitive. Combined pronouns with compounds follow different rules: the clitic attaches to the auxiliary ter (tenho-lho dito) or sits in front of it under proclisis (não lho tenho dito). This is separate from the infinitive cases discussed here, though the overall logic of proclisis triggers is the same. See Clitic Placement Overview for compound tenses.

A longer sample: combined pronouns with infinitives in a paragraph

Here is a small connected text that exercises several of the patterns we've seen.

The last sentence slips into mesóclise (dir-to-ei) — the future tense with a combined pronoun. Mesóclise with combined pronouns is literary but correct; in speech, most speakers would say digo-to or vou dizer-to.

Comparison with Spanish

Spanish shows the same two-position flexibility with infinitives, and the same climbing phenomenon. The key differences:

• Spanish does not fuse the two object clitics; they stay as separate unstressed words (me lo, te la, se lo).
• Spanish has the le → se rule (le lo → se lo); EP does not — EP fuses lhe + o into lho.
• Spanish requires written accents when attaching two clitics to an infinitive (dártelo, decírmelo); EP does not need accents because the final -r of the infinitive is retained.

What sounds natural in spoken EP

A few empirical patterns from everyday speech:

1. Simple sentences tend to use non-climbed: Quero dizer-to, Vou dar-lho. The pronoun sits comfortably on the infinitive.
2. Negation tends to climb: Não to quero dizer, Não lho vou dar. Climbing feels more natural under negation.
3. Long infinitive phrases tend to keep the pronoun on the infinitive: Tenho de começar a tentar mostrar-lho sounds better than Lho tenho de começar a tentar mostrar.
4. Questions often climb: Quando lho vais dar? feels more natural than Quando vais dar-lho?, though both are used.

If you match these patterns, your EP will sound more native. If you are unsure, remember: non-climbed is always safe; climbing is sometimes more natural but rarely obligatory.

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• With an auxiliary/modal + infinitive construction, combined pronouns can sit either attached to the infinitive (quero dizer-to) or in front of the finite verb when a proclisis trigger is present (não to quero dizer).
• Clitic climbing is the movement of the pronoun from the infinitive to the finite verb, triggered by negation, wh-words, certain adverbs, conjunctions, and indefinites.
• Climbing is strongly preferred in writing and formal speech; in casual conversation both climbed and non-climbed forms are heard.
• The combined pronoun travels as a unit — you cannot split IO and DO across two positions.
• Clitic climbing does not cross subordinate clause boundaries (que clauses, se clauses) or subject noun phrases.
• With estar a + infinitive (progressive), climbing under negation is very common and idiomatic.
• In the synthetic future and conditional, the analogous phenomenon is mesóclise (dir-to-ei), which is formal and rare in speech — see Mesóclise.

Once you are comfortable moving combined pronouns around infinitives, you have mastered the flexibility that makes EP feel both controlled and expressive. For the complete picture of clitic placement, continue with Clitic Placement Overview and the dedicated pages on Ênclise and Próclise.