Indirect Object Pronouns (Me, Te, Lhe, Nos, Vos, Lhes)

If direct object pronouns answer the question "what?" or "whom?" after a verb, indirect object pronouns answer the question "to whom?" or "for whom?" In the sentence "I gave the book to João," the book is the direct object (what I gave) and João is the indirect object (to whom I gave it). European Portuguese marks indirect objects with a dedicated pronoun set — me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes — which replaces the "a + person" phrase. The third-person forms lhe and lhes are gender-neutral (they mean "to him," "to her," "to you formal," or "to them"), which makes them simpler than the direct-object o/a/os/as system but also more ambiguous — which is one reason European Portuguese often doubles the clitic with a full noun phrase for clarity. This page lays out the paradigm, the verbs that govern it, the contrast with direct objects, and the prepositional version (a mim, a ti, a si) that often appears alongside.

The full paradigm

Three important observations about this paradigm:

1. The first- and second-person forms (me, te, nos, vos) are identical to the direct-object set. A single pronoun does double duty, and context disambiguates. Ela viu-me ("she saw me," direct) vs. Ela disse-me ("she told me," indirect).
2. The third-person forms (lhe, lhes) are gender-neutral. Lhe can mean "to him," "to her," or "to you (formal)." This is different from the direct-object set, where you have o vs. a.
3. The second-person plural vos is increasingly rare in spoken European Portuguese. It survives in literary writing, set expressions, religious language, and regional speech (especially in the north of Portugal), but in everyday conversation most speakers rephrase or use other constructions.

What "indirect object" really means

The classic definition — "the one to whom or for whom the action is done" — captures most cases, but it's worth being precise. In European Portuguese, the indirect object is typically the dative argument of a verb: the person (or, occasionally, entity) that receives, benefits from, is affected by, or is the endpoint of the action. In the underlying structure, it is introduced by the preposition a.

The test: can you restate the sentence with a + noun/pronoun and have it mean the same thing? If yes, that argument is a candidate for the indirect object slot.

Notice that in each case, the clitic lhe or lhes stands in for the entire "a + noun" phrase — this is the essential substitution.

Direct vs. indirect: telling them apart

This is where English speakers sometimes stumble, because English collapses both categories under "him" or "her" and hides the difference. Portuguese keeps them sharply distinct.

The operational test in English: if you can insert "to" or "for" before the person and the sentence sounds natural, that person is an indirect object in Portuguese — use lhe/lhes (3rd person) or me/te/nos/vos (1st and 2nd). If the person is the direct recipient of the action with no implied "to/for," use the direct-object forms.

The verbs that take an indirect object

Certain verbs almost always take a dative argument — a "to whom?" — and these are the workhorses of indirect-object usage. Memorizing this list pays off because these verbs appear constantly.

Three of these — telefonar, ligar, responder — are often sources of error for English speakers. English uses direct objects ("I called him," "I answered her"), but Portuguese treats these as indirect: you phone to someone, you reply to someone.

The impersonal dative construction: parecer, apetecer, doer, custar

Portuguese has a class of verbs — including parecer (to seem), apetecer (to feel like), doer (to hurt), custar (to cost / be hard), faltar (to be lacking), bastar (to be enough), convir (to suit), interessar (to interest) — that work "backwards" from English. The thing that seems, hurts, or is desired is the grammatical subject, and the person experiencing it is the indirect object.

This construction is identical in principle to Spanish gustar, and in Portuguese the verb gostar actually does not follow this pattern — gostar takes de + thing: "Gosto de ti" ("I like you," literally "I have fondness of you"). But the impersonal dative family is alive and well.

The prepositional counterpart: a mim, a ti, a ele, a nós

For every clitic indirect-object pronoun, there is a corresponding prepositional (disjunctive) form built with a + tonic pronoun. These are used when:

1. Emphasis is needed: "A mim ele nunca telefonou" — "He never called me (specifically)."
2. The pronoun is isolated or coordinated: "Deu um presente a mim e ao João."
3. Contrastive focus: "Não a ti, a ele."

When the clitic is obligatory vs. when the prepositional phrase can stand alone

In spoken European Portuguese, the preferred pattern is usually clitic alone, with the prepositional phrase added only when emphasis or disambiguation is needed. But in certain environments — especially when the pronoun is coordinated, is a full noun phrase, or is in a list — the prepositional form must be used.

The emphatic doubling — using both the clitic and the prepositional form — is covered in depth on Indirect Object Doubling.

Disambiguating lhe

Because lhe covers "to him," "to her," and "to you (formal)," sentences with lhe are often ambiguous out of context. European Portuguese handles this in three ways:

1. Context: the surrounding discourse makes clear who lhe refers to.
2. Disambiguating phrases: add a ele, a ela, ao senhor, à senhora, a você after the verb.
3. Repeat the noun if necessary.

Combining direct and indirect: the clitic cluster

When both a direct-object and an indirect-object pronoun appear with the same verb, they combine into a contracted form: me + o → mo, te + a → ta, lhe + os → lhos, etc. This is covered fully in Combined Pronouns, but here is a preview so you can see where indirect pronouns fit into the system:

Note: lhe + o/a/os/as and lhes + o/a/os/as produce the same output (lho/lha/lhos/lhas) — the singular/plural distinction of the indirect object is lost in the contraction. This ambiguity is another reason European Portuguese often doubles the clitic with a full noun.

Placement of indirect-object pronouns

The placement rules for me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes are identical to those for direct-object pronouns — enclise by default, próclise with triggers (não, question words, subordinators, certain adverbs, indefinite subjects), and mesóclise in the future and conditional. See Indirect Object Placement for the full treatment.

Vos: still alive, but narrowing

Vos is the 2nd-person plural indirect-object pronoun, historically paired with the subject pronoun vós. Since vós is archaic in most of modern spoken European Portuguese (it survives in the far north and in religious/literary contexts), vos has inherited some of its retreat.

In contemporary Portugal:

• Formal written Portuguese: vos is standard and common. "Agradeço-vos a vossa atenção."
• Semi-formal speech (speeches, journalism): vos is expected. "Peço-vos um momento."
• Everyday spoken Portuguese: vos is often replaced by lhes (treating the group as 3rd person) or by rephrasing.
• Regional northern Portuguese: vos with vós is still productive in some communities.

The doubled indirect object: a European Portuguese signature

One distinguishing feature of European Portuguese is the frequency of clitic doubling — using both the clitic and the full noun phrase in the same clause:

Unlike Spanish, where clitic doubling is sometimes obligatory ("A María le di el libro" is often required), in Portuguese it is optional but extremely common — a marker of natural colloquial syntax. See Indirect Object Doubling for the full story.

Contrast with English: three mismatches

Mismatch 1: English hides the direct/indirect distinction

In English, "I told him" and "I saw him" both use "him." Portuguese separates these: "Disse-lhe" (indirect) vs. "Vi-o" (direct). Learners must stop relying on the English form and think about the Portuguese verb.

Mismatch 2: verb government differs

Some verbs that are transitive in English (take a direct object) are intransitive + dative in Portuguese. Telefonar, responder, obedecer, resistir, agradar all take lhe, not o/a.

Mismatch 3: English "give him it" vs. Portuguese "dei-lho"

English grudgingly allows "give him the book" / "give the book to him" / "give it to him" but resists "give him it." Portuguese has a clean clitic cluster: *dei-lho ("I gave it to him").

Common mistakes

Quick test: direct or indirect?

When in doubt about which pronoun to choose, apply this test:

1. Is the pronoun the direct target of the action? (The verb acts on it.) → o, a, os, as.
   • Vi a Ana. → Vi-a.
2. Is the pronoun the recipient or beneficiary, introduced by a in the full form? → lhe, lhes.
   • Escrevi à Ana. → Escrevi-lhe.
3. Is it 1st or 2nd person? → me, te, nos, vos serve both functions — context decides.
   • Ela viu-me. (direct) / Ela disse-me. (indirect)

Key takeaways

• The indirect-object pronouns are me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes — replacing a
  • person.
• Lhe is gender-neutral (him / her / you formal); lhes covers "them" and formal "you all."
• First and second person forms (me, te, nos, vos) are identical to direct-object forms; context distinguishes.
• Verbs that take dative in Portuguese but direct in English: telefonar, responder, obedecer, agradar, resistir.
• Impersonal dative verbs: doer, apetecer, parecer, custar, faltar, bastar, interessar.
• Prepositional forms (a mim, a ti, a ele, a si, a nós) exist for emphasis, coordination, or when a full phrase is needed.
• Clitic doubling — using both lhe/lhes and a + noun — is optional but extremely common in European Portuguese.
• When indirect and direct clitics combine, they contract: me + o → mo, lhe + os → lhos, etc.
• Placement follows the standard enclise/próclise/mesóclise rules, identical to direct objects.