Where to place the reflexive pronoun — before the verb or after it — is one of the grammatical features that most sharply distinguishes European Portuguese from Brazilian Portuguese, and one of the first places where learners who have studied Brazilian materials give themselves away in Lisbon. The good news is that the rules are completely systematic: there is an unambiguous answer for every sentence. This page is the full reference. It covers enclisis (the default), the full list of triggers that force proclisis, the formal future and conditional's mesoclisis, and the spelling quirks — most famously the nós form dropping its final -s.
Master this page and you will know exactly where every me, te, se, nos goes in every sentence you write.
The three positions
Portuguese has three positions where a clitic pronoun (including reflexive me, te, se, nos) can land.
| Position | Where | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Enclisis | After the verb, attached with a hyphen | Lavo-me. |
| Proclisis | Before the verb, unattached | Não me lavo. |
| Mesoclisis | Inside the verb (future/conditional only) | Lavar-me-ei. |
European Portuguese default: enclisis in affirmative declarative main clauses. Proclisis whenever certain words or constructions ("triggers") appear. Mesoclisis with the synthetic future and conditional in formal writing.
Enclisis — the default
When nothing pulls the pronoun forward, the reflexive pronoun goes after the verb, attached with a hyphen.
Chamo-me Inês.
My name is Inês.
Levanto-me às sete.
I get up at seven.
Ele deita-se tarde todos os dias.
He goes to bed late every day.
Eles encontram-se sempre no mesmo café.
They always meet at the same café.
A minha filha veste-se sozinha agora.
My daughter dresses herself now.
This is the neutral, everyday placement in European Portuguese. If your sentence is a plain affirmative statement — subject + verb + rest — the pronoun goes enclitic.
The nós form drops -s
A spelling quirk specific to enclisis: when the reflexive pronoun nos attaches enclitically to a nós form ending in -mos, the verb drops its final -s:
| Verb form |
| Proclitic (for comparison) |
|---|---|---|
| levantamos | levantamo-nos | nos levantamos |
| sentamos | sentamo-nos | nos sentamos |
| encontramos | encontramo-nos | nos encontramos |
| esquecemos | esquecemo-nos | nos esquecemos |
| vestimos | vestimo-nos | nos vestimos |
| arrependemos | arrependemo-nos | nos arrependemos |
Levantamo-nos cedo todos os dias, mesmo ao fim-de-semana.
We get up early every day, even on weekends.
Encontramo-nos às oito na esplanada.
We meet at eight on the terrace.
Esquecemo-nos completamente do teu aniversário. Perdoa-nos.
We completely forgot your birthday. Forgive us.
When the pronoun moves proclitic (pulled forward by a trigger), the -s returns:
Não nos levantamos cedo.
We don't get up early.
Quando nos encontramos, falamos sempre demasiado.
When we meet up, we always talk too much.
The 3pl keeps -m
The 3pl form (ending in -m) does not drop anything. Eles levantam + se simply becomes levantam-se, with the hyphen and no deletion.
Os clientes sentam-se à mesa e pedem a ementa.
The customers sit down at the table and ask for the menu.
Os alunos ajudam-se nos trabalhos de grupo.
The students help each other on group projects.
This is worth highlighting because Brazilian Portuguese orthography once had the optional -m → -n spelling (levantam-se vs levantan-se), which is no longer used. Modern EP keeps the full -m.
Proclisis — the triggers
The pronoun moves to before the verb whenever one of the following appears in the sentence. Memorize these categories. Once you know them, placement becomes mechanical.
1. Negation
Any negative word pulls the pronoun forward: não, nunca, jamais, nada, ninguém, nenhum, nem.
Não me lembro do nome dele.
I don't remember his name.
Nunca me sinto bem aos domingos.
I never feel well on Sundays.
Ninguém se importa com as regras.
Nobody cares about the rules.
Nem te atreves a pedir desculpa?
You don't even dare to apologize?
Nada se compara ao cheiro do pão fresco.
Nothing compares to the smell of fresh bread.
2. Subordinating conjunctions
Words that introduce a subordinate clause trigger proclisis: que, porque, quando, se (if), embora, para que, antes que, assim que, logo que, enquanto, mesmo que, sem que, and most others.
Espero que te sintas melhor amanhã.
I hope you feel better tomorrow.
Quando me levanto cedo, sinto-me melhor o dia todo.
When I get up early, I feel better the whole day.
Se te esqueceres das chaves, toca à campainha.
If you forget the keys, ring the bell.
Fiquei em casa porque me sentia mal.
I stayed home because I was feeling unwell.
Saí antes que eles se zangassem.
I left before they got angry.
Embora se esforce muito, não consegue aprender japonês.
Although he tries hard, he can't learn Japanese.
Notice the key contrast in the second example: Quando me levanto has proclisis (subordinate clause), but sinto-me melhor has enclisis (main clause). The trigger only works inside its own clause.
3. Certain adverbs
A specific list of adverbs — mostly focus and scope particles — triggers proclisis: também, já, ainda, sempre, só, apenas, talvez, quiçá, bem, mal, todos, tudo.
Também me esqueci do livro.
I also forgot the book.
Já me levantei há uma hora.
I already got up an hour ago.
Ainda se ouve aquela canção na rádio.
You can still hear that song on the radio.
Sempre me senti em casa em Lisboa.
I've always felt at home in Lisbon.
Só me lembrei do teu aniversário no dia seguinte.
I only remembered your birthday the next day.
Talvez se arrependa mais tarde.
Perhaps he'll regret it later.
Todos se levantaram quando ele entrou.
Everyone stood up when he came in.
Not all adverbs are triggers. Simple temporal and locative adverbs (hoje, ontem, amanhã, aqui, ali) do not trigger proclisis when they precede the verb unless they are focus-fronted with emphasis.
Hoje levanto-me mais tarde.
Today I'm getting up later. (temporal — no trigger)
Aqui encontra-se o melhor bacalhau da cidade.
Here you find the best bacalhau in the city. (locative — no trigger, stative)
4. Interrogative pronouns (wh-questions)
Question words — quem, que, o que, qual, quando, onde, como, quanto, por que/porquê — trigger proclisis.
Como te chamas?
What's your name?
Quando te deitas normalmente?
What time do you usually go to bed?
Onde nos encontramos?
Where shall we meet?
Porque te sentes mal?
Why do you feel unwell?
5. Relative pronouns
Relative pronouns (que, quem, o qual, onde, cujo) are also triggers. The clitic in a relative clause goes before the verb.
A pessoa que se chama João é o meu primo.
The person named João is my cousin.
O café onde nos encontrámos fechou no ano passado.
The café where we met closed last year.
Os alunos que se esforçam chegam longe.
Students who make an effort go far.
A mulher com quem me casei é arquiteta.
The woman I married is an architect.
6. Indefinite pronouns and quantifiers
Indefinites — todos, tudo, alguém, ninguém, algo, qualquer, muito(s), pouco(s), cada — trigger proclisis when they are the subject preceding the verb.
Ninguém se importa com o que eu penso.
Nobody cares what I think.
Alguém se lembra de ter trancado a porta?
Does anyone remember locking the door?
Todos se queixaram do barulho.
Everyone complained about the noise.
Muitos se esqueceram de pagar.
Many people forgot to pay.
Cada um de nós se esforçou por fazer o seu melhor.
Each of us made an effort to do our best.
7. Certain prepositional phrases and focus constructions
Cleft and focus constructions (é que, foi que), as well as a few prepositional phrases used as fronted adverbials (por isso, só então), can also trigger proclisis. This is a smaller category and mostly relevant at higher levels.
Por isso se queixam tanto.
That's why they complain so much.
É aqui que nos encontramos sempre.
This is where we always meet. (cleft)
Mesoclisis — the formal future and conditional
This is the placement rule that feels most exotic to English speakers: in the synthetic future and conditional tenses, the clitic pronoun can go inside the verb, between the stem and the ending.
| Tense | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Future | lavar-me-ei | I shall wash myself |
| Future | arrepender-se-á | he will regret |
| Conditional | lavar-me-ia | I would wash myself |
| Conditional | sentar-nos-íamos | we would sit down |
The stem is the full infinitive; the endings are the future endings (-ei, -ás, -á, -emos, -ão) or conditional endings (-ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -iam); the clitic sits between them with hyphens on both sides.
Arrepender-se-á desta decisão, eu garanto.
He will regret this decision, I guarantee it. (formal / literary)
Dar-nos-íamos melhor se nos víssemos mais vezes.
We'd get on better if we saw each other more often. (formal / literary)
Mesoclisis is formal and literary. In everyday European Portuguese, you will almost never produce it. Instead, speakers use the periphrastic ir + infinitive construction for the future (vai arrepender-se) or simply place the clitic before the verb after adding a trigger (não se arrependerá).
Vai arrepender-se desta decisão.
He's going to regret this decision. (everyday)
Não se arrependerá desta decisão.
He won't regret this decision. (negation triggers proclisis — no mesoclisis needed)
The comprehensive flowchart
Here is the full decision tree for where to place a reflexive pronoun in European Portuguese.
- Is the verb in the synthetic future or conditional, in formal writing, with no proclisis trigger? → Use mesoclisis: lavar-me-ei, arrepender-me-ia. (Rare in speech.)
- Is there a proclisis trigger in the sentence? (Negation, subordinating conjunction, certain adverbs, interrogative, relative, indefinite, cleft.) → Proclisis: não me lavo, quando me lavo, também me lavo, quem se lava.
- Neither of the above? → Enclisis: lavo-me, lava-se, lavamo-nos, lavam-se.
Keep in mind that the trigger has to be in the same clause as the verb it affects, and usually before the verb. A trigger at the end of the sentence does not pull the pronoun forward.
Chamo-me João, não te preocupes.
My name is João, don't worry. (the 'não' in the second clause doesn't affect the first clause's verb)
Compound tenses and infinitive/gerund complements
When the reflexive verb is part of a compound tense (with ter or haver) or is the infinitive/gerund complement of another verb, the pronoun attaches to the auxiliary or to the main verb, following the same enclisis/proclisis rules.
With ter / haver
The pronoun attaches to the auxiliary ter or haver, not to the past participle.
Tenho-me sentido cansado ultimamente.
I've been feeling tired lately. (enclisis on ter)
Não me tenho sentido bem.
I haven't been feeling well. (proclisis triggered by não)
Ele tinha-se esquecido completamente.
He had completely forgotten.
With modal / aspectual + infinitive
When a modal verb (poder, querer, dever) or an aspectual auxiliary (ir, começar a, acabar de) is followed by an infinitive, the pronoun can attach to either verb — both are acceptable in European Portuguese, though slightly different in register.
Posso sentar-me aqui?
Can I sit here? (attached to infinitive — most common)
Posso-me sentar aqui?
Can I sit here? (attached to modal — also acceptable, slightly less common in EP)
Não posso sentar-me aqui.
I can't sit here. (infinitive takes enclisis, unaffected by the 'não' on 'posso')
Não me posso sentar aqui.
I can't sit here. (the 'não' pulls the pronoun proclitic onto 'posso')
Both of the last two are correct; speakers make the choice partly by rhythm and partly by habit. Attaching to the infinitive (enclitic) is slightly more frequent in casual speech.
With gerund
The pronoun attaches to the gerund enclitically.
Foi-se embora, queixando-se do mau tempo.
He went off, complaining about the bad weather.
Saíram a correr, esquecendo-se da carteira em cima da mesa.
They ran out, forgetting the wallet on the table.
The complete reference table
| Situation | Placement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative declarative, nothing triggering | Enclisis | Lavo-me. |
| After não, nunca, nada, ninguém | Proclisis | Não me lavo. |
| After que, quando, se, porque, embora... | Proclisis | Quando me lavo. |
| After também, já, ainda, sempre, só, talvez | Proclisis | Também me lavo. |
| After wh-word (quem, como, onde, quando...) | Proclisis | Como te chamas? |
| After relative pronoun | Proclisis | A pessoa que se chama João. |
| After indefinite (todos, ninguém, alguém...) | Proclisis | Ninguém se importa. |
| Synthetic future / conditional, formal, no trigger | Mesoclisis | Lavar-me-ei. |
| Nós form + enclitic nos | Drop -s | Levantamo-nos. |
| Nós form + proclitic nos | Keep -s | Não nos levantamos. |
PT-PT vs PT-BR: the headline difference
This is worth stating explicitly because it is the single biggest divergence. In colloquial Brazilian Portuguese, proclisis is the default even in affirmative main clauses, and enclisis is restricted largely to formal writing.
| European Portuguese | Brazilian Portuguese (colloquial) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Chamo-me João. | Me chamo João. | My name is João. |
| Levanto-me às sete. | Me levanto às sete. | I get up at seven. |
| Sentem-se, por favor. | Se sentem, por favor. | Sit down, please. |
| Ele deitou-se cedo. | Ele se deitou cedo. | He went to bed early. |
Starting a sentence with a clitic — Me chamo, Se levanta — is stigmatized in European Portuguese even in speech, where every other placement is relaxed. If you are learning EP and come from a Brazilian-influenced background, the single most useful retraining habit is: never start a sentence with a clitic. The enclitic default will then feel natural quickly.
Common Mistakes
❌ Me chamo Ana.
Brazilian placement — in European Portuguese, the default is enclitic: Chamo-me. Starting a sentence with a clitic is strongly marked as non-EP.
✅ Chamo-me Ana.
My name is Ana.
❌ Não lavo-me com esta água fria.
Incorrect — negation triggers proclisis. The pronoun must come before the verb, not after.
✅ Não me lavo com esta água fria.
I don't wash with this cold water.
❌ Nós sentamos-nos à mesa.
Incorrect — when -nos attaches enclitically, the verb's final -s drops. The form is sentamo-nos, with the -s gone.
✅ Nós sentamo-nos à mesa.
We sit down at the table.
❌ Nós não sentamo-nos aqui.
Incorrect — proclisis (triggered by não) keeps the -s on the verb and moves the pronoun before. The right form is 'Não nos sentamos aqui.'
✅ Não nos sentamos aqui.
We don't sit here.
❌ Quando chamo-me João, as pessoas riem.
Incorrect — subordinating 'quando' triggers proclisis. The pronoun goes before the verb.
✅ Quando me chamam João, rio-me.
When they call me João, I laugh.
❌ Como chamas-te?
Incorrect — interrogatives trigger proclisis. The correct form is 'Como te chamas?'
✅ Como te chamas?
What's your name?
❌ Ninguém importa-se contigo.
Incorrect — ninguém is an indefinite and triggers proclisis. The pronoun must precede the verb.
✅ Ninguém se importa contigo.
Nobody cares about you.
Key Takeaways
- Enclisis is the default in European Portuguese: lavo-me, chamo-me, levantamo-nos, sentam-se. Brazilian Portuguese uses proclisis in the same situations.
- Triggers force proclisis: negation (não, nunca, nada, ninguém), subordinating conjunctions (que, quando, se, porque, embora), focus adverbs (também, já, ainda, sempre, só, talvez), interrogatives (quem, como, onde, quando), relatives (que, onde, cujo), and indefinites (todos, ninguém, alguém).
- The nós form drops its final -s before the enclitic -nos: levantamos
- nos → levantamo-nos. The -s returns when the pronoun moves proclitic: não nos levantamos.
- The 3pl ending -m does not drop: levantam-se, esquecem-se, sentam-se.
- Mesoclisis (pronoun inside the verb — lavar-me-ei) appears only in the synthetic future and conditional, and only in formal writing. Everyday speech avoids it by using the periphrastic future (vou lavar-me) or by letting a trigger move the pronoun proclitic (não me lavarei).
- Never start a European Portuguese sentence with a clitic. That is the single most reliable marker of Brazilian usage carried into EP.
Related Topics
- Reflexive Verbs OverviewA2 — What reflexive verbs are in European Portuguese — the pronouns, the clitic placement rules, the five main categories (true reflexive, inherent, reciprocal, middle, and se-passive), and the key PT-PT vs PT-BR differences.
- Common Reflexive VerbsA2 — The core set of reflexive verbs in European Portuguese — lavar-se, vestir-se, sentir-se, chamar-se, and the rest — with full paradigms, natural examples, and notes on prepositions and clitic placement.
- Inherently Reflexive VerbsB1 — The Portuguese verbs that exist only in reflexive form — arrepender-se, queixar-se, orgulhar-se, esforçar-se, aperceber-se, and their cousins — where the pronoun is not a modifier but part of the verb itself.
- Reflexive vs Non-Reflexive: Meaning ShiftsB1 — The Portuguese verbs whose meaning changes — sometimes subtly, sometimes completely — when you add se. Lembrar vs lembrar-se, ir vs ir-se, sair vs sair-se, and a dozen more.
- Reciprocal Verbs — Each OtherB1 — How European Portuguese uses the reflexive pronoun with plural subjects to mean 'each other' — the pattern, the ambiguity with true reflexives, and the disambiguators um ao outro and mutuamente.
- Reflexive Pronouns (Me, Te, Se, Nos, Vos, Se)A2 — The full paradigm of Portuguese reflexive pronouns — what they mean, which verbs take them, and how they express reflexive, reciprocal, and idiomatic meanings.