Reflexive Pronoun Placement | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Now that you know the six reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, vos, se) and what they mean, the next question is where to put them around the verb. The placement rules are the same rules as for every other Portuguese clitic: ênclise (after the verb) is the default, próclise (before the verb) applies when a trigger is present, and mesóclise (inside the verb) applies in the future and conditional without a trigger. Reflexive pronouns add one small morphological twist: when the verb ends in -s and you attach -nos or -vos, the -s drops. That drop is the single extra rule worth memorising for A2.

This page assumes you already know the reflexive pronoun paradigm. If not, start with Reflexive Pronouns. For the general clitic-placement framework, see Clitic Placement Overview.

The three placement patterns

Reflexive pronouns behave like any other Portuguese clitic. They have three possible positions relative to the verb:

Pattern	Position	Hyphen	When to use	Example
Ênclise	After the verb	Verb-pronoun	Default for plain main clauses	Lavo-me.
Próclise	Before the verb	No hyphen	When a próclise trigger is in the clause	Não me lavo.
Mesóclise	Inside future/conditional	Stem-pronoun-ending	Future or conditional without a trigger	Lavar-me-ei.

The reflexive pronoun always keeps the same form — it's the verb and the punctuation that change.

Ênclise — the default (after the verb, hyphenated)

In a plain, affirmative main clause with no trigger, the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of the verb with a hyphen. This is ênclise, and it's the starting-point for every declarative sentence in EP.

Chamo-me Pedro.

My name is Pedro.

Sento-me aqui, se não te importas.

I'll sit here, if you don't mind.

Ela deita-se sempre cedo.

She always goes to bed early.

O João lembrou-se de trazer vinho.

João remembered to bring wine.

Eles encontram-se todas as sextas-feiras para jogar futebol.

They meet every Friday to play football.

Notice the hyphen is required and is a non-negotiable part of EP spelling. Writing "Chamome" or "Chamo me" is a spelling error, as serious as leaving out an accent.

Full ênclise paradigm: lembrar-se in the present

Subject	Form
eu	lembro-me
tu	lembras-te
ele / ela / você	lembra-se
nós	lembramo-nos
vocês / eles / elas	lembram-se

Note the odd-looking 1pl form lembramo-nos. This is the -s drop rule, which we will look at carefully below.

Eu lembro-me sempre dos teus anos.

I always remember your birthday.

Tu lembras-te do nome dela?

Do you remember her name?

Ele lembra-se de tudo o que acontece.

He remembers everything that happens.

Nós lembramo-nos muito bem daquele dia.

We remember that day very well.

Eles lembram-se de ti com carinho.

They remember you fondly.

Próclise — with a trigger (before the verb, no hyphen)

When a próclise trigger is present in the clause, the reflexive pronoun moves in front of the verb and the hyphen disappears. The common triggers are:

Negation: não, nunca, nada, ninguém, nenhum, jamais, nem
Subordinating conjunctions: que, porque, quando, se, embora, antes que, para que, logo que
Relative pronouns: que, quem, cujo, onde, o qual, quanto
Interrogative words: quem, que, qual, onde, quando, como, porquê, quanto
Proclitic adverbs: já, ainda, sempre, só, apenas, talvez, também, bem, mal
Certain indefinites and quantifiers: todos, tudo, alguém, algo, poucos, muitos

With any of these in the clause, ênclise is replaced by próclise.

Não me lembro do nome dela.

I don't remember her name.

Nunca te queixas de nada.

You never complain about anything.

Espero que se lembrem de nós.

I hope they remember us. (subordinator 'que')

Quando te sentas, a cadeira range.

When you sit down, the chair creaks.

Já me esqueci do que te ia dizer.

I've already forgotten what I was going to tell you. (adverb 'já' and subordinator 'que')

Quem se importa?

Who cares? (interrogative 'quem')

Só nos vemos aos domingos.

We only see each other on Sundays. (adverb 'só')

Talvez se encontrem no aeroporto.

Maybe they'll meet at the airport. (adverb 'talvez')

Ninguém se atreve a dizer nada.

Nobody dares to say anything. (negative indefinite 'ninguém')

A pessoa que se sentou ao meu lado estava a cantar.

The person who sat next to me was singing. (relative 'que')

Se te esqueceres, liga-me.

If you forget, call me. (subordinator 'se' introducing a conditional)

A quick mental test: read the clause and ask yourself, "Is there any of these trigger words before the verb in this clause?" If yes → pronoun before verb (próclise). If no → pronoun after verb (ênclise).

Mesóclise — inside the verb, only in future and conditional (B2+)

In the simple future (lavarei, deitar-se-á) and the conditional (lavaria, deitar-se-ia), and only when no trigger is present, the reflexive pronoun is inserted between the verb stem and the tense ending. This is mesóclise, and for reflexives it's flagged here but treated fully on the dedicated page.

Lavar-me-ei antes de sair.

I will wash (myself) before going out. (formal written)

Sentar-nos-emos junto à janela.

We will sit by the window. (formal)

Esquecer-se-á disto num mês.

He/she will forget about this in a month. (formal)

Encontrar-nos-íamos no café do costume.

We would meet at the usual café. (literary)

With any trigger, mesóclise gives way to próclise:

Não me lavarei esta noite.

I won't wash tonight. (trigger 'não' → próclise)

Quando nos sentarmos, o espetáculo começa.

When we sit down, the show begins. (trigger 'quando' → próclise)

In conversational EP, reflexive mesóclise is rare — speakers prefer vou lavar-me, vamos sentar-nos (periphrastic) or the imperfect for conditional meanings (lavava-me, sentávamo-nos). See Mesóclise in Modern Usage for when to produce it.

The -s drop with nos and vos

Here is the one rule that is genuinely specific to reflexives (and to the 1pl/2pl forms of any clitic): when the verb ends in -s and you attach the clitics -nos or -vos in ênclise, the -s of the verb drops. This affects:

1pl verb forms — almost always ending in -mos (lavamos, comemos, partimos, sentamos)
2pl verb forms — ending in -is or -ais / -eis (lavais, comeis, partis) — mostly archaic/literary today

With 1pl verbs + -nos

The verb form loses its final -s before -nos. The orthographic result is lavamo-nos, not *lavamos-nos.

Lavamo-nos antes do jantar.

We wash (ourselves) before dinner. (from lavamos + nos → lavamo-nos)

Sentámo-nos à mesa e começámos a comer.

We sat at the table and started to eat. (preterite 'sentámos' + nos → sentámo-nos)

Vemo-nos amanhã?

Shall we see each other tomorrow? (from vemos + nos → vemo-nos)

Lembramo-nos bem daquela viagem a Évora.

We remember that trip to Évora well.

Conhecemo-nos há muitos anos.

We've known each other for many years.

Encontrámo-nos por acaso no supermercado.

We ran into each other by chance at the supermarket.

Divertimo-nos imenso na festa.

We had a great time at the party.

Despedimo-nos dela à porta do aeroporto.

We said goodbye to her at the airport gate.

Without the drop, *lavamos-nos would double the -s sound and also violate EP orthography.

❌ Lavamos-nos antes do jantar.

Incorrect in EP — the -s of lavamos drops before -nos, producing 'lavamo-nos'.

✅ Lavamo-nos antes do jantar.

We wash (ourselves) before dinner.

With 2pl verbs + -vos

The same rule applies to -vos on 2pl verb forms, but since vós is archaic in modern EP speech, you will mainly see this in older literature, religious texts, and formal writing.

Sentai-vos.

Sit down (plural, archaic/liturgical). (imperative 'sentai' already ends in -ai, no -s to drop)

Lavai-vos sempre antes da refeição.

Wash yourselves always before the meal. (imperative 'lavai' + vos — archaic/liturgical)

A note on the 2pl -is ending: in the archaic vós paradigm, the indicative 2pl endings are -ais / -eis / -is, which end in -s. When -vos is attached, the same drop rule as for -mos + -nos applies: the -s of the verb drops, giving lavai-vos, comei-vos, parti-vos. The imperative forms -ai / -ei / -i already end without -s, so no drop is needed: sentai-vos, ide-vos, vinde-vos. You will encounter vós forms with -vos almost exclusively in literature, prayers, and hymns.

Archaic: Ide e multiplicai-vos.

Go and multiply. (religious register; 'multiplicai' + vos)

Archaic: Sentai-vos todos à mesa.

Sit all of you at the table. (liturgical style)

When no drop applies

The drop rule applies only to 1pl (-mos) + -nos. It doesn't affect other persons, because other verb forms don't end in -s in the same way.

Lava-se todas as manhãs. (no drop — 3sg verb ends in 'a')

He/she washes every morning.

Lavo-me depressa. (no drop — 1sg verb ends in 'o')

I wash quickly.

Lavam-se na piscina. (no drop — 3pl verb ends in 'm')

They wash at the pool.

Lavas-te com muita paciência. (2sg verb ends in -s, but -s stays — only the -mos drop applies)

You wash yourself very patiently.

The 2sg form lavas-te is interesting: lavas ends in -s, but the drop rule does not apply because the attaching clitic is te, not -nos or -vos. The rule is specifically about -mos / -mos(+)-nos and -is / -is(+)-vos.

Placement with auxiliaries and infinitives

When the main verb is in a compound or periphrastic construction — vou lavar-me, estou a lavar-me, tenho de me lavar — the reflexive attaches to the verb it semantically belongs to, which is usually the infinitive or gerund.

Vou lavar-me antes de sair.

I'm going to wash before going out. (clitic on the infinitive, ênclise)

Estou a vestir-me, dá-me um minuto.

I'm getting dressed, give me a minute. (clitic on the infinitive inside 'estar a + inf')

Tenho de me levantar cedo amanhã.

I have to get up early tomorrow. (próclise because 'tenho de' introduces the infinitive with a typical próclisis pattern for many speakers)

Preciso de me concentrar.

I need to concentrate. (similar pattern)

Ele está a despedir-se dos colegas.

He's saying goodbye to his colleagues.

With negation on the auxiliary, the clitic usually climbs to the auxiliary in próclise:

Não me vou esquecer disto.

I'm not going to forget this. (próclise on the auxiliary 'vou' triggered by 'não')

Não te preocupes, não me vou zangar.

Don't worry, I'm not going to get angry.

Both the "climb" version (não me vou esquecer) and the "stay" version (não vou esquecer-me) are acceptable in EP, with slight nuances: the climbed version feels tighter and more spoken; the infinitive version is also fine and often preferred in writing.

Placement with imperatives

Positive imperatives take ênclise. Negative imperatives (which use subjunctive forms) take próclise, because não is a trigger.

Senta-te aqui, por favor.

Sit here, please. (positive imperative, ênclise)

Não te sentes aí, a cadeira está partida.

Don't sit there, the chair is broken. (negative imperative, próclise)

Levanta-te, já é tarde!

Get up, it's already late!

Não te levantes tão depressa, vais ficar tonto.

Don't get up so fast, you'll get dizzy.

Lembrem-se do que vos disse.

Remember what I told you (plural).

Não se esqueçam das chaves.

Don't forget the keys (plural).

Note that the plural imperatives use the subjunctive form (lembrem, esqueçam), which attaches -se in the positive form and takes se in front in the negative.

Placement with estar a + infinitive (EP progressive)

European Portuguese uses estar a + infinitive for the progressive, not estar + gerúndio as in BP. The reflexive attaches to the infinitive.

Estou a lavar-me.

I am washing (myself). (EP progressive)

Ele está a despedir-se dos amigos.

He is saying goodbye to his friends.

Nós estamos a preparar-nos para a viagem.

We are getting ready for the trip.

With negation, the clitic can stay on the infinitive or climb to estar:

Não estou a vestir-me ainda.

I'm not getting dressed yet.

Não me estou a vestir ainda.

I'm not getting dressed yet. (climbed variant)

Both are correct; the climbed version is slightly more colloquial in tone.

Complete placement paradigm — sentar-se through several tenses

Tense / context	Form	Pattern
Present, plain	Ele senta-se.	ênclise
Present, negated	Ele não se senta.	próclise
Preterite, plain	Ele sentou-se.	ênclise
Imperfect, plain	Ele sentava-se.	ênclise
Future, plain	Sentar-se-á.	mesóclise
Future, negated	Não se sentará.	próclise
Conditional, plain	Sentar-se-ia.	mesóclise
Conditional, negated	Não se sentaria.	próclise
Subjunctive (present), in subordinate	Espero que se sinta bem.	próclise (trigger: 'que')
Positive imperative	Senta-te!	ênclise
Negative imperative	Não te sentes!	próclise (trigger: 'não')
Periphrasis (ir + inf)	Vou sentar-me.	ênclise on infinitive
Negated periphrasis	Não me vou sentar. / Não vou sentar-me.	próclise on auxiliary OR ênclise on inf

Placement in combined reflexive + object pronouns

Reflexive pronouns can combine with other clitics in some constructions — for example, the indirect reflexive se with a direct-object clitic. These combined forms pattern like the basic reflexive for placement purposes.

Ele serviu-se de um bolo. → Serviu-se dele.

He served himself a cake. → He served himself some of it.

A Rita aproveitou-se da situação. → Aproveitou-se dela.

Rita took advantage of the situation. → She took advantage of it.

Summary rule for reflexives

A useful four-step mental algorithm:

Identify the person of the subject, and select the matching reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, vos, se).
Look at the verb tense: if future or conditional, mesóclise is possible; otherwise, only ênclise or próclise.
Scan the clause for triggers: if any próclise trigger is present before the verb, use próclise. If not, use ênclise (or mesóclise if future/conditional).
Apply the -s drop if the verb is 1pl and you're attaching -nos: *lavamos-nos becomes lavamo-nos.

That algorithm gets you the right answer in almost every everyday sentence.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Forgetting the -s drop on nós + nos

❌ Nós lavamos-nos antes do jantar.

Incorrect — the -s of 'lavamos' drops before '-nos', giving 'lavamo-nos'.

✅ Nós lavamo-nos antes do jantar.

We wash (ourselves) before dinner.

❌ Encontrámos-nos no café.

Incorrect — the preterite 'encontrámos' also drops its -s before '-nos'.

✅ Encontrámo-nos no café.

We met at the café.

Mistake 2: Missing the hyphen in ênclise

The hyphen between verb and reflexive pronoun is a required part of EP spelling. Dropping it or replacing it with a space is a spelling error.

❌ Chamome Pedro. / Chamo me Pedro.

Incorrect — ênclise requires a hyphen: 'Chamo-me'.

✅ Chamo-me Pedro.

My name is Pedro.

Mistake 3: Starting a main clause with a reflexive clitic

European Portuguese doesn't allow an unstressed pronoun at the very beginning of an independent clause, even a reflexive one. You must either use ênclise or supply a leading element.

❌ Me lembro muito bem daquela tarde.

Ungrammatical in EP — can't start with 'me'. Use ênclise: 'Lembro-me muito bem...'.

✅ Lembro-me muito bem daquela tarde. / Eu lembro-me muito bem...

I remember that afternoon very well.

❌ Se chamam Pedro e Sofia.

Ungrammatical in EP — can't start with 'se'.

✅ Chamam-se Pedro e Sofia.

Their names are Pedro and Sofia.

Mistake 4: Keeping ênclise when a trigger is present

A trigger in the clause forces próclise. Leaving the reflexive after the verb when não, que, nunca, quem, etc. are in the clause is a common early error.

❌ Ele não lembra-se do nome.

Incorrect — 'não' triggers próclise.

✅ Ele não se lembra do nome.

He doesn't remember the name.

❌ Espero que sentas-te confortável.

Incorrect on two counts — 'que' triggers próclise, and the verb should be subjunctive 'sentes'.

✅ Espero que te sintas confortável.

I hope you feel comfortable.

Mistake 5: Using ênclise in negative imperatives

Negative commands use subjunctive forms with próclise, because não is always a trigger.

❌ Não senta-te aqui.

Incorrect — negative imperative requires próclise: 'Não te sentes aqui.' (with subjunctive)

✅ Não te sentes aqui.

Don't sit here.

❌ Não lembra-te disto.

Incorrect — several problems; correct is 'Não te lembres disto' (subjunctive + próclise).

✅ Não te lembres disso.

Don't dwell on that. / Try not to think about that.

Mistake 6: Missing the stem accent when -nos causes the -s drop in preterite forms

In EP preterite 1pl forms (lavámos, encontrámos, sentámos, falámos), there is an acute accent on the stressed vowel before the ending. When the -s drops before -nos, the accent remains.

✅ Lavámo-nos antes do almoço.

We washed (ourselves) before lunch. (preterite, with the accent preserved on á)

✅ Sentámo-nos junto à janela.

We sat by the window. (preterite)

❌ Lavamo-nos ontem antes do almoço.

This looks like a present tense but intends the preterite; without the accent it reads as present. Preterite needs 'Lavámo-nos'.

Key Takeaways

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, vos, se) follow the same placement rules as other clitics: ênclise by default, próclise after a trigger, mesóclise in future/conditional without a trigger.
Ênclise uses a hyphen (lava-me, lembra-te, senta-se) — the hyphen is obligatory.
Próclise is triggered by negation, subordinators, relatives, interrogatives, proclitic adverbs, and certain indefinites. A trigger in the clause moves the pronoun in front of the verb.
The -s drop rule is the one thing specifically associated with 1pl reflexives: *lavamos-nos → lavamo-nos. Apply it whenever a 1pl verb in -mos takes -nos in ênclise. The accent (if any) stays on the preterite stem: lavámo-nos.
Negative imperatives take próclise with subjunctive forms: não te sentes, não se esqueçam, não nos preocupemos.
In speech, mesóclise with reflexives is rare — speakers prefer vou + infinitive or the imperfect. In formal writing, lavar-me-ei, sentar-se-iam are standard.
For the full reflexive pronoun paradigm and meanings, see Reflexive Pronouns.