Portuguese Object Pronouns: Enclisis (The Hyphenated Form)
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
In Portuguese, when a verb starts a sentence, you attach the object pronoun to the end using a hyphen.
- Use enclisis (verb-pronoun) when the verb starts a sentence: 'Ajudo-o' (I help him).
- If the verb ends in -r, -s, or -z, drop the letter and add 'l' to the pronoun: 'Amá-lo'.
- If the verb ends in a nasal sound (-m, -ão, -õe), add 'n' to the pronoun: 'Dão-no'.
Overview
In Portuguese, object pronouns—the words for "me," "him," "her," and "us" that receive a verb's action—don't have a fixed position like in English. One of their three possible placements is enclisis: attaching the pronoun directly to the end of the verb using a hyphen. You've likely seen this in phrases like diga-me (tell me) or senta-te (sit down).
This isn't an optional stylistic choice; it's a fundamental rule of formal Portuguese grammar.
Enclisis is considered the default and most grammatically correct position for these pronouns in standard written Portuguese, for both the European and Brazilian variants. In European Portuguese (EP), this rule holds true for most spoken contexts as well. In Brazilian Portuguese (BP), however, daily conversation heavily favors placing the pronoun before the verb (a pattern called proclisis), making enclisis sound formal or literary.
For anyone aiming to write professionally, pass a proficiency exam, or understand formal materials, mastering enclisis is non-negotiable.
The core principle to remember is that standard Portuguese syntax forbids starting a sentence or independent clause with a weak object pronoun. You cannot write Me disseram a verdade (They told me the truth) in a formal context. The grammatically required construction is Disseram-me a verdade.
Enclisis, therefore, is the solution to this rule, providing a grammatically sound way to position the pronoun when it cannot appear before the verb.
Think of these pronouns (me, te, o, a, lhe, etc.) as "clitics"—words that are phonologically weak and need to "lean" on a stronger host word, in this case, the verb. Enclisis represents their default leaning position: after the verb, connected by a hyphen. Other grammatical factors, which we will explore, can "pull" the pronoun to the front, but without that pull, enclisis is the norm.
How This Grammar Works
- Negative Words: Words like
não(not),nunca(never),jamais(never), andninguém(no one) always trigger proclisis. - Enclisis (No attractor):
Eu vejo-a.(I see her.) - Proclisis (Attractor
não):Eu não a vejo.(I don't see her.)
- Question Words: Interrogative words such as
quem(who),quando(when),onde(where), andcomo(how) pull the pronoun forward. - Enclisis:
Ele encontrou-o.(He found it.) - Proclisis:
Onde ele o encontrou?(Where did he find it?)
- Subordinating Conjunctions: Words that introduce dependent clauses, most notably
que(that), but alsoquando(when),se(if), andembora(although). - Enclisis:
Entregue-me o relatório.(Hand me the report.) - Proclisis:
Ele pediu que eu lhe entregasse o relatório.(He asked that I hand him the report.)
- Indefinite Pronouns and Adverbs: Words like
tudo(everything),alguém(someone),sempre(always), andjá(already) also function as attractors. - Enclisis:
Lembro-me do seu nome.(I remember your name.) - Proclisis:
Eu sempre me lembro do seu nome.(I always remember your name.)
Formation Pattern
o, a, os, as.
me | me (to me, myself) |
te | you (informal singular) (to you, yourself) |
o, a | him, it (masc.); her, it (fem.); you (formal singular) |
lhe | to him, to her, to you (formal singular) (Indirect Only) |
nos | us (to us, ourselves) |
vos | you (plural, mainly EP) (to you, yourselves) |
os, as | them (masc./fem.); you (formal plural) |
lhes | to them, to you (formal plural) (Indirect Only) |
eu amo + te → amo-te (I love you)
ela comprou + o → ela comprou-o (she bought it)
nós vemos + nos → vemo-nos (we see each other)
-r (like infinitives), -s (common in present tense forms), or -z (as in faz or diz), and you need to attach the pronouns o, a, os, or as, a phonetic change occurs to smooth out the pronunciation.
-r, -s, or -z from the verb.
l to the beginning of the pronoun, creating lo, la, los, las.
a, e, or o to preserve the original stress. a becomes á; e becomes ê; o becomes ô.
o, a, os, as. All other pronouns (me, te, lhe, etc.) attach to the full verb without causing any change. For example, dizer + te = dizer-te.
comprar | + o | 1. Drop -r: compra 2. Add -lo: compra-lo 3. Accent a: comprá | comprá-lo | to buy it |
vamos | + os | 1. Drop -s: vamo 2. Add -los: vamo-los | vamo-los | we... them (e.g. vamos buscá-los -> vamo-los buscar) |
faz | + a | 1. Drop -z: fa 2. Add -la: fa-la 3. Accent a: fá | fá-la | he/she does it |
pôr | + as | 1. pô 2. las | pô-las | to put them |
nos to a verb ending in -s (like vamos), the -s is dropped, but no l- is added. Vamos + nos (reflexive) → Vamo-nos embora (Let's get out of here).
-m of the third-person plural (e.g., falam, viram) or a nasal diphthong (-ão, -õe), another phonetic bridge is needed for the pronouns o, a, os, or as.
n to the beginning of the pronoun, creating no, na, nos, nas.
l- form, only applies to o, a, os, as.
compram | + o | compram-no | they buy it |
dão | + as | dão-nas | they give them |
põe | + a | põe-na | he/she puts it |
retêm | + os | retêm-nos | they retain them |
When To Use It
- Correct:
Chamo-me Ana.(My name is Ana.) - Incorrect:
Me chamo Ana.(Colloquial in Brazil, but grammatically incorrect in writing.) - Correct:
Disseram-nos que a reunião foi cancelada.(They told us the meeting was canceled.) - Incorrect:
Nos disseram que...
Senta-te!(Sit down! - informaltu)Sente-se!(Sit down! - formalvocê)Façam-no imediatamente.(Do it immediately. -vocês)
não acts as an attractor, forcing proclisis: Não te sentes!, Não se sente!, Não o façam.em), enclisis is used.O ladrão fugiu, deixando-os sem nada.(The thief fled, leaving them with nothing.)Passei a tarde organizando meus arquivos e finalmente terminei, pondo-os em ordem alfabética.(I spent the afternoon organizing my files and finally finished, putting them in alphabetical order.)
Em se tratando de... (When it comes to...) is an example of proclisis with the gerund, triggered by the preposition em.Estou aqui para ajudá-lo.(I'm here to help you.)Você deve informá-la sobre a decisão.(You should inform her about the decision.)Meu objetivo é tornar-me fluente.(My goal is to become fluent.)
Vou te ajudar), but the enclitic form (Vou ajudar-te) remains the standard for formal writing and is the norm in EP.Common Mistakes
- Error:
Te envio os relatórios em anexo. - Correction:
Envio-te os relatórios em anexo.(orEnvio-lhe...forvocê) - Why it matters: While perfectly normal in a WhatsApp message, using this construction in a cover letter or academic paper can be perceived as overly casual or demonstrating a lack of grammatical awareness. Always begin clauses with the verb:
Informo-lhe que...,Parece-me correto...,Agradeço-lhe a ajuda.
comê-lo from comer + o, the circumflex accent (ê) is not decorative. It's essential for maintaining the verb's original stress and pronunciation.- Error:
Vou buscala na estação. - Correction:
Vou buscá-la na estação. - Why it's wrong: Without the accent,
buscalawould be pronounced /bus-CA-la/. The accent inbuscá-laensures the stress remains on the final syllable, preserving the sound of the original infinitive: /bus-CAR-la/.
você with tete with the third-person treatment você. While this is a feature of the spoken language, it is technically a grammatical mismatch.- Informal BP Reality:
Você viu o que eu te mandei? - Formal Correction:
Você viu o que eu lhe mandei? - Explanation:
Vocêgrammatically functions as a third-person pronoun, so its corresponding object pronouns areo/a(direct) andlhe(indirect). The pronountebelongs totu. For formal writing, maintain this consistency: if you usevocê, useo,a, orlheas the object.
l- and n- Transformationso, a, os, as. Learners sometimes mistakenly apply them to other pronouns like lhe or me.- Error:
Eu queria dizer-lhe-lo. - Correction:
Eu queria dizer-lho.(a more advanced contraction) or, more simply,Eu queria dizer isso a ele/ela. - Error:
Eles viram-ne no shopping.(applying then-form tome) - Correction:
Eles viram-me no shopping.
-lo, -la, -no, -na are exclusively for the o/a/os/as set of pronouns.Real Conversations
Observing how pronoun placement functions in the wild is key to understanding its social and contextual meaning. The same rule is applied very differently depending on the medium and dialect.
Formal Email (Applicable to both BP and EP):
Enclisis is the gold standard for professional communication. Its use signals respect and formal education.
Prezada Dra. Costa,
Escrevo-lhe para confirmar nossa reunião. Conforme combinamos, envio-lhe o resumo do projeto. Coloco-me à sua inteira disposição para o que for necessário.
- Analysis: Notice the consistent use of enclisis: escrevo-lhe (I am writing to you), envio-lhe (I am sending you), coloco-me (I place myself). Starting with Lhe escrevo would be a significant error in this context.
Texting in Brazilian Portuguese (BP):
Proclisis reigns supreme. Enclisis is almost entirely absent unless used in a fixed expression or for ironic effect.
- A: c viu oq eu te mandei? (did u see what i sent u?)
- B: vi agora. adorei ele. kkkk (saw it now. loved it. lol)
- Analysis: Pronouns are placed before the verb (te mandei) or, in a very common informal pattern, a subject pronoun is used as an object (adorei ele instead of the formal adorei-o). Enclisis is virtually non-existent.
Texting in European Portuguese (EP):
Enclisis remains common and natural, even in very informal digital communication.
- A: Viste o que te enviei? (Did you see what I sent you? - proclisis due to que)
- B: Vi agora. Adorei-o! Está brutal. (Saw it now. Loved it! It's awesome.)
- Analysis: The attractor que forces proclisis in the question. But in the simple, affirmative response, Adorei-o is the default and most natural construction.
Spoken Language:
- Spoken BP: A Brazilian will almost always say Me dá um copo d'água? (Can you give me a glass of water?). The formal Dá-me um copo d'água? would sound stilted, bookish, or even foreign.
- Spoken EP: A European speaker will naturally say Dá-me um copo de água, se faz favor. The proclitic Me dá... would sound like a Brazilianism.
Quick FAQ
Not entirely. While proclisis is dominant, enclisis is standard in a few common situations. Affirmative commands like Sente-se (Sit down) or Acalme-se (Calm down) are used by everyone. It also appears in more formal or set phrases, like É um prazer conhecê-lo (It's a pleasure to meet you). However, for simple declarative sentences like Eu vi-o ontem (I saw him yesterday), it is almost never used in casual speech.
o/a) or an indirect object (lhe)?This depends on the verb's transitivity. A direct object answers "what?" or "whom?" without a preposition. An indirect object answers "to whom?" or "for whom?" and often corresponds to an object introduced by prepositions like a or para. For example, in Eu entreguei o pacote (what?) ao cliente (to whom?), o pacote is direct and ao cliente is indirect. The pronouns would be o and lhe, respectively. Eu entreguei-o ao cliente. or Eu entreguei-lhe o pacote.
mim with a hyphen, like diga-mim?No. Mim is a tonic (strong) pronoun, which is only used after prepositions (para mim, de mim, sem mim). Enclisis uses atonic (weak/clitic) pronouns like me. The correct form is diga-me.
vê-lo vs. ver-te. Why does one verb get an accent and the other doesn't?The verb transformation (dropping the final consonant and adding an accent) only occurs when attaching the third-person pronouns o, a, os, or as. For all other pronouns (me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes), you simply attach them to the full, unchanged verb form. Therefore: ver + o -> vê-lo, but ver + te -> ver-te.
ajudar-te-ei) for a B1 learner?At a B1 level, you only need to recognize mesoclisis—the pattern of placing a pronoun in the middle of a future or conditional verb. It is almost extinct in speech and is now rare even in writing, found mostly in legal texts, classic literature, or the Bible. You are not expected to produce it. The modern equivalent, and what you should use, is the compound future with ir: Vou ajudar-te (BP/EP) or Vou te ajudar (colloquial BP).
Enclisis Rules
| Verb Ending | Pronoun Change | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Vowel
|
None
|
Ajuda-me
|
|
-r, -s, -z
|
Add 'l'
|
Comê-lo
|
|
-m, -ão, -õe
|
Add 'n'
|
Dão-no
|
Meanings
Enclisis is the placement of an object pronoun after the verb, connected by a hyphen. It is the standard way to attach pronouns when the verb begins a clause.
Sentence-initial
Used when the verb is the first word in the sentence.
“Digo-lhe a verdade.”
“Faço-o agora.”
Imperative
Used in affirmative commands.
“Ajuda-me!”
“Dá-lhe o livro.”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Verb-Pronoun
|
Ajuda-me
|
|
Negative
|
Não-Pronoun-Verb
|
Não me ajudes
|
|
Question
|
Verb-Pronoun?
|
Ajuda-me?
|
|
-r ending
|
Verb(drop r)-l-Pronoun
|
Amá-lo
|
|
-m ending
|
Verb-n-Pronoun
|
Dão-no
|
|
Reflexive
|
Verb-Pronoun
|
Chamo-me
|
Formality Spectrum
Ajude-me, por favor. (Asking for help)
Ajuda-me. (Asking for help)
Me ajuda. (Asking for help)
Dá uma força aí. (Asking for help)
The Enclisis Magnet
Standard
- Ajuda-me Help me
R/S/Z Rule
- Comê-lo Eat it
Nasal Rule
- Dão-no They give it
Examples by Level
Ajuda-me, por favor.
Help me, please.
Dá-me o livro.
Give me the book.
Vejo-te amanhã.
I see you tomorrow.
Chamo-me Ana.
I am called Ana.
Fá-lo agora.
Do it now.
Convido-te para a festa.
I invite you to the party.
Escrevo-lhe uma carta.
I write him/her a letter.
Comê-lo é um prazer.
Eating it is a pleasure.
Dão-no como perdido.
They consider it lost.
Pô-lo na mesa foi difícil.
Putting it on the table was hard.
Vê-los é sempre bom.
Seeing them is always good.
Diz-me a verdade.
Tell me the truth.
Encontrá-la-ei amanhã.
I will meet her tomorrow.
Fê-lo com muito cuidado.
He did it with great care.
Damo-nos muito bem.
We get along very well.
Puseram-no no lugar certo.
They put it in the right place.
Vê-se que ele estudou.
It is seen that he studied.
Dá-se conta do erro.
He realizes the mistake.
Mantê-lo-emos informado.
We will keep him informed.
Fê-lo-ia se pudesse.
He would do it if he could.
Sabe-se que a terra gira.
It is known that the earth rotates.
Pô-lo-ia em dúvida.
I would put it in doubt.
Dão-se por satisfeitos.
They consider themselves satisfied.
Vê-lo-emos no tribunal.
We will see him in court.
Easily Confused
Learners often use enclisis when a trigger word is present.
Learners confuse the placement of pronouns in future tense.
Learners mix up 'o' and 'lhe'.
Common Mistakes
Me ajuda
Ajuda-me
Ajuda o
Ajuda-o
Dá me
Dá-me
Vejo te
Vejo-te
Comer-o
Comê-lo
Fazer-o
Fá-lo
Dão-o
Dão-no
Não faço-o
Não o faço
Que vejo-te
Que te vejo
Quem viu-me
Quem me viu
Pô-lo-ia
Pô-lo-ia
Dão-se-ão
Dar-se-ão
Vê-lo-ei
Vê-lo-ei
Sentence Patterns
___-me, por favor.
___-lo agora.
___-no na mesa.
___-se que é verdade.
Real World Usage
Informo-lhe que...
Fê-lo com alegria.
Dão-no como culpado.
Agradeço-lhe a oportunidade.
Visite-o cedo.
Peça-o agora.
The Hyphen Rule
Negative Words
European Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Smart Tips
Drop the 'r' and add 'l-'.
Add 'n-'.
Move the pronoun to the front.
Use enclisis to sound professional.
Pronunciation
Hyphenation
The hyphen does not change the pronunciation of the verb, but it links the two words into a single prosodic unit.
Command
Ajuda-me! ↘
Falling intonation indicates a firm command.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
When the verb is first, the pronoun is the worst (it has to go to the end).
Visual Association
Imagine a verb as a train engine and the pronoun as a caboose. If the engine is at the front of the tracks, the caboose must be attached to the very back.
Rhyme
If the verb starts the line, put the pronoun behind with a hyphen sign.
Story
Maria is a boss. She says 'Faz-o!' (Do it!). She is the verb, so she puts the pronoun at the end. Her friend João tries to say 'O faz', but Maria corrects him: 'No, I am the boss, I go first!'
Word Web
Challenge
Write 5 sentences starting with a verb and attach a pronoun to each.
Cultural Notes
Enclisis is the standard in both speech and writing. Using 'Me ajuda' in Portugal can sound very informal or 'Brazilian'.
Proclisis is the norm in speech. Enclisis is reserved for formal writing or literary contexts.
Similar to European Portuguese, enclisis is common in formal contexts.
Enclisis comes from Latin, where pronouns were often attached to the verb.
Conversation Starters
Como se diz 'Help me' em português?
Você prefere 'Me ajuda' ou 'Ajuda-me'?
Como você diria 'Eat it' usando enclisis?
Em que contextos a enclise é obrigatória?
Journal Prompts
Common Mistakes
Test Yourself
Ajuda-___ (me/eu)
Find and fix the mistake:
Não faço-o.
Comer + o = ?
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
Give me the book.
Answer starts with: Dá-...
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
Fazer (ele) + o
Enclisis is used after 'não'.
Score: /8
Practice Exercises
8 exercisesAjuda-___ (me/eu)
Find and fix the mistake:
Não faço-o.
Comer + o = ?
o / Fá / agora
Give me the book.
Dão + o
Fazer (ele) + o
Enclisis is used after 'não'.
Score: /8
Practice Bank
13 exercises___ (Ouvir + me), por favor!
Temos de ___ (fazer + a) agora.
Which is correct for 'I love you'?
Espero que veja-me logo.
Vou ___ (comer + os) todos.
Eles põem + o.
___ (Aguardo + o) ansiosamente.
Vou bebe-lo.
Match the base forms to the enclitic forms.
Select the grammatically standard option.
Ele ___ (sentar-se) na cadeira.
Quero conhecê lo.
Fiz + a.
Score: /13
FAQ (8)
The hyphen connects the verb and the pronoun, treating them as one word.
Yes, but mostly in formal writing. Spoken Brazilian Portuguese prefers proclisis.
Just add the pronoun with a hyphen, e.g., 'Ajuda-me'.
When the verb ends in -r, -s, or -z.
When the verb ends in a nasal sound like -m, -ão, or -õe.
Yes, but it depends on the sentence structure.
It is less common and can sound informal or non-native.
Remembering the sound changes for -r, -s, -z, and nasal endings.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Enclisis
Spanish doesn't have the 'l' and 'n' insertion rules for verb endings.
Proclisis
French doesn't use enclisis as a default.
None
German is not a pro-drop language in the same way.
None
Japanese is an agglutinative language.
Suffixes
Arabic suffixes are part of the verb morphology, not separate words.
None
Chinese has no verb conjugation.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
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