Direct Object Pronouns: -lo, -la, -los, -las
When a direct object pronoun (o, a, os, as) attaches to a verb that ends in -r, -s, or -z, two things happen:
- The verb drops its final consonant (-r, -s, or -z).
- The pronoun adds an l to become -lo, -la, -los, or -las.
This is extremely common with infinitive verbs (which end in -r). When you drop the -r from an -ar verb, you must add an acute accent to the a (á). If it is an -er verb, you add a circumflex to the e (ê).
Dropping -s and -z
This same attachment rule applies to conjugated verbs that end in -s (such as the tu and nós forms) and -z (like traz). You drop the final consonant before attaching the pronoun.
Notice how the nós ending -mos becomes -mo-lo (e.g., compramos -> compramo-lo).
When shopping, you will encounter useful words like o desconto (the discount), o troco (the change), and o provador (the fitting room).
When using two-verb phrases (like querer or poder plus an infinitive), the object pronoun typically attaches to the infinitive. Because the infinitive ends in -r, you will consistently use the -lo/-la forms here, even if there is a negative word like não earlier in the sentence.