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Portuguese (Portugal)

Just like we combined third-person pronouns in the last lesson to say "give it to him," we can also combine first and second-person pronouns with direct objects. When dealing with mail and deliveries, this lets us easily say "Give it to me," "I will send it to you," or "She delivered it to us."

### To Me and To You

When the indirect objects **me** (to me) and **te** (to you) meet a direct object (**o**, **a**, **os**, or **as**), they merge into a single short word.

| Indirect Pronoun | Direct Pronoun | Contraction |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **me** | **o/a/os/as** | **mo, ma, mos, mas** |
| **te** | **o/a/os/as** | **to, ta, tos, tas** |

Just like with third-person pronouns, the final vowel of the contraction always matches the gender and number of the **direct object** (the thing being handled).

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### To Us

When the indirect object **nos** (to us) meets a direct object pronoun, the spelling changes slightly. The **-s** at the end of *nos* drops, the direct pronoun takes an **-l-**, and the two parts are connected with a hyphen.

| Indirect Pronoun | Direct Pronoun | Contraction |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **nos** | **o/a/os/as** | **no-lo, no-la, no-los, no-las** |

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### Placement and Magnets

These contractions follow the standard pronoun placement rules. Usually, they attach directly to the end of the conjugated verb or infinitive with a hyphen.

However, "magnet" words—such as negative words (**não**) and question words (**quando**, **onde**)—pull the contraction to the front of the verb. The contraction sits as a separate word before the verb. 

*(Note: For "no-lo" contractions, the hyphen inside the word itself remains, even when it is pulled away from the verb!)*

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First and second-person object contractions (mo, to)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Question	Answer
the envelope	o envelope
it to you / them to you (to, ta, tos, tas)	to
Do you want the envelope? I will give it to you.	Queres o envelope? Dou-to.
the label	a etiqueta
it to me / them to me (mo, ma, mos, mas)	mo
Did you read the label? Then can you explain it to me, please?	Leste a etiqueta? Então podes explicar-ma, por favor?
the parcel	a encomenda
it to us / them to us (no-lo, no-la, no-los, no-las)	no-lo
We need the parcel, but he won't send it to us.	Precisamos da encomenda, mas ele não no-la envia.
fragile	frágil
the postman	o carteiro
The parcel is fragile. Did the postman deliver it to you yesterday?	A encomenda é frágil. O carteiro entregou-ta ontem?
I need the envelope. Can you give it to me now?	Preciso do envelope. Podes dar-mo agora?
When did the postman give it to you?	Quando é que o carteiro to deu?
The package arrived on Wednesday and she gave it to us.	O pacote chegou na quarta-feira e ela deu-no-lo.
We did not see the envelope. Can you show it to us?	Não vimos o envelope. Podes mostrar-no-lo?
Where is the parcel? You did not give it to me!	Onde está a encomenda? Não ma deste!
The parcel is very fragile. I will not give it to you.	A encomenda é muito frágil. Não ta dou.
the signature	a assinatura
You have to put the signature on the label.	Tens de pôr a assinatura na etiqueta.
to sign	assinar
The postman needs your signature. Can you sign here?	O carteiro precisa da tua assinatura. Podes assinar aqui?
The postman gives it to me and I sign the receipt.	O carteiro dá-mo e eu assino o recibo.