Breakdown of Eu o ajudo a estudar português.
eu
I
português
Portuguese
estudar
to study
o
him
ajudar a
to help
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Questions & Answers about Eu o ajudo a estudar português.
Why is the object pronoun o used here, and what does it refer to?
The pronoun o is the third-person masculine singular direct object pronoun (“him” or “it” when masculine). In Eu o ajudo a estudar português, o stands in for the person you’re helping (e.g., “João” or “the student”), so you don’t have to repeat his name.
Why is the pronoun placed before the verb ajudo instead of after it?
In Brazilian Portuguese, placing clitic pronouns before the verb is very common in everyday speech. This is called proclisis. Because the sentence begins with the subject pronoun eu, it “pulls” o in front of ajudo. Technically you could say Eu ajudo-o a estudar português (enclisis), but Eu o ajudo a estudar português sounds far more natural in Brazil.
Why do I need the preposition a before the infinitive estudar? Can I say Eu o ajudo estudar português?
The verb ajudar in Portuguese requires a before another verb in the infinitive. The pattern is ajudar a + infinitive, similar to “help to do” in English. Omitting the a (Eu o ajudo estudar) is ungrammatical or at least very awkward.
Can I replace a with para, as in Eu o ajudo para estudar português?
You can hear ajudar para + infinitive to express purpose (“I help him so that he can study Portuguese”), but the standard, most idiomatic construction for “help somebody do something” is ajudar a + infinitive. Using para shifts the nuance toward “in order to.”
Is it correct to say Eu ajudo ele a estudar português instead of Eu o ajudo a estudar português?
In informal spoken Brazilian Portuguese, eu ajudo ele is extremely common. However, prescriptive grammar treats ele as a tonic (stressed) pronoun and prefers the clitic o for a direct object. You might also hear ajudo a ele, but that’s more formal. So:
- Colloquial: Eu ajudo ele a estudar português.
- Standard: Eu o ajudo a estudar português.
How would I change the sentence if I’m helping a woman or more than one person?
You just switch the pronoun to match gender and number:
- Feminine singular (“her”):
Eu a ajudo a estudar português. - Masculine or mixed plural (“them”):
Eu os ajudo a estudar português. - Feminine plural (“them”):
Eu as ajudo a estudar português.
Why is português written in lowercase in Portuguese?
In Portuguese, language names are common nouns, so they are not capitalized (unlike in English). You write português with a lowercase p, unless it’s the first word of a sentence.