Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

Portuguese (Portugal)

### Direct Object Pronouns: -no, -na, -nos, -nas

When a direct object pronoun (*o, a, os, as*) attaches to a verb that ends in a nasal sound — such as **-m**, **-ão**, or **-õe** — the pronoun transforms:
- It adds an **n**, becoming **-no**, **-na**, **-nos**, or **-nas**.

Unlike the rule for verbs ending in *-r, -s,* or *-z*, the verb **does not** drop its final letter. You simply add a hyphen and the new pronoun. You will see this very frequently with third-person plural verbs, which end in **-m** (like *lavam* or *varrem*).

{{item:980204}}

{{item:980207}}

{{item:980210}}

### Plurals and Household Chores

When talking about household chores — like sweeping, washing, vacuuming, and folding — you will often refer to plural objects like glasses (*os copos*) or windows (*as janelas*). The exact same rule applies to the plural pronouns (*os* and *as*), which become **-nos** and **-nas** after a nasal verb ending.

{{item:980214}}

{{item:980216}}

{{item:980221}}

### The Negative Exception

Remember that in Portuguese, negative words like **não** automatically pull the pronoun to the front of the verb. When this happens, the pronoun does not attach to the end of the verb at all, so it keeps its normal form (*o, a, os, as*). This rule overrides the nasal attachment rule.

{{item:980222}}

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

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)

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)

Already and not yet (já, ainda não)

Question	Answer
to sweep	varrer
to wash	lavar
him / it (m, after nasal sound)	-no
They sweep the floor and wash it.	Eles varrem o chão e lavam-no.
the dishes	a loiça
her / it (f, after nasal sound)	-na
When the dishes are dirty, the girls wash them.	Quando a loiça está suja, as raparigas lavam-na.
the dust	o pó
to vacuum	aspirar
When there is dust, they vacuum it.	Quando há pó, eles aspiram-no.
the trash	o lixo
Do your sons take out the trash in the morning? Yes, they take it out.	Os teus filhos tiram o lixo de manhã? Sim, tiram-no.
them (m, after nasal sound)	-nos
They wash the glasses and put them away in the drawer.	Eles lavam os copos e guardam-nos na gaveta.
them (f, after nasal sound)	-nas
They (f) open the windows and clean them.	Elas abrem as janelas e limpam-nas.
to fold	dobrar
The women wash the clothes and fold them.	As mulheres lavam a roupa e dobram-na.
There is dust in the living room. The boys vacuum it.	Há pó na sala. Os rapazes aspiram-no.
Where is the trash? They sweep it into the street.	Onde está o lixo? Eles varrem-no para a rua.
The pants are clean. They fold them and put them away.	As calças estão limpas. Eles dobram-nas e guardam-nas.
We are washing the dishes, because they do not wash them.	Nós estamos a lavar a loiça, porque eles não a lavam.
The boys lose their shoes, but the mothers find them.	Os rapazes perdem os sapatos, mas as mães encontram-nos.