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Portuguese (Portugal)

When you want to say *to whom* or *for whom* an action is performed, you use an **indirect object pronoun**. For example, if you suggest a plan to someone, "to someone" is the indirect object.

### The Indirect Object Pronouns

| Pronoun | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| me | to/for me |
| te | to/for you (informal) |
| lhe | to/for him, her, it, you (formal) |
| nos | to/for us |
| lhes | to/for them, you all (formal) |

Because **lhe** and **lhes** can refer to multiple people (him, her, or formal you), the context of the conversation usually makes it clear who is receiving the action or advice.

### Default Placement: After the Verb

In standard European Portuguese, indirect object pronouns usually attach to the end of the verb with a hyphen.

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### Placement with Infinitives

When a sentence uses a verb in the infinitive (the unconjugated dictionary form), the pronoun typically attaches directly to the end of that infinitive. This is common when using structures like *estar a* + infinitive (continuous actions) or verbs like *querer* (to want).

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### The "Magnet" Effect: Negative Words

Certain words act like magnets, pulling the pronoun to the front of the verb and dropping the hyphen. The most common magnets are negative words like **não** (not) and **ninguém** (nobody).

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Indirect object pronouns (me, te, lhe)

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
to suggest	sugerir
the step	o passo
He suggests the next step to you.	Ele sugere-te o próximo passo.
to recommend	recomendar
the career	a carreira
The teacher used to recommend a different career to him.	A professora recomendava-lhe uma carreira diferente.
the success	o sucesso
You are explaining the secret of success to us.	Estás a explicar-nos o segredo do sucesso.
the goal	o objetivo
the future	o futuro
My father used to show me the goals for the future.	O meu pai mostrava-me os objetivos para o futuro.
to achieve	alcançar
Doesn't your boss explain to you how to achieve success?	O teu chefe não te explica como alcançar o sucesso?
We want to suggest a good plan to them.	Queremos sugerir-lhes um bom plano.
the experience	a experiência
With our experience, we recommend this path to you.	Com a nossa experiência, recomendamos-lhe este caminho.
She wants to have success, but nobody explains the plan to her.	Ela quer ter sucesso, mas ninguém lhe explica o plano.
I am showing you the path to success.	Estou a mostrar-te o caminho para o sucesso.
I want to show him my plan for the future.	Quero mostrar-lhe o meu plano para o futuro.
The teacher shows you the step to achieve the goal.	O professor mostra-te o passo para alcançar o objetivo.
to improve	melhorar
The boss gives him the experience to improve the career.	O chefe dá-lhe a experiência para melhorar a carreira.
I give them the advice to improve.	Eu dou-lhes o conselho para melhorar.