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Na lua
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Ir à praia não é boa ideia
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Um pau de dois bicos
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Já viste a previsão para logo?
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Parece que vai chover
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Porque é que é tão difícil parar com maus hábitos?
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O mais fácil é ir de metro
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Portuguese Object Complements and Pronouns
Little words like lhe, te, or nos often show up around Portuguese verbs. These are object pronouns, just like him, you, or us in English.
Simply put, object pronouns indicate to whom or to what the action of the verb refers.
There are two kinds of object pronouns: direct and indirect. While the former concerns a direct object, the latter concerns an indirect one (we’ll get to that shortly).
Many learners confuse direct with indirect object pronouns. Another common issue is knowing whether the pronoun goes before or after the verb.
In what follows, I’ll explain how Portuguese direct and indirect object pronouns work and where to place them in a sentence.
Portuguese Object Pronouns: Getting to Know Them
Direct vs Indirect Object: What’s the Difference?
Object pronouns are personal pronouns used to replace direct and indirect objects. That may sound abstract, so let’s break it down with an example:
O Joel deu uma flor à Isabel.
Joel gave Isabel a flower.
Breaking this down:
| Subject | Joel |
| Verb (action) | deu (verb dar) |
| Direct object | a flor |
| Indirect object | à Isabel |
The direct object is what the action is directly done to (the flower), while the indirect object is who receives the action (Isabel).
A quick rule of thumb:
- Direct objects usually follow an article or determiner (uma flor)
- Indirect objects are usually preceded by a preposition (à Isabel)
Direct vs Indirect Object Pronouns
Let’s tweak the sentence above:
(1) O Joel deu-a à Isabel.
Joel gave it to Isabel.
(2) O Joel deu-lhe uma flor.
Joel gave her a flower.
In (1), the direct object (uma flor) is replaced by a. In (2), the indirect object (à Isabel) is replaced by lhe.
Here’s a quick reference chart:
| SUBJECT | DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN | INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN |
| Eu | me | me |
| Tu | te | te |
| Ele, Ela | o, a | lhe |
| Nós | nos | nos |
| Vocês | vos | vos |
| Eles, Elas | os, as | lhes |
Only 3rd-person direct object pronouns change based on gender. Indirect object pronouns don’t—they just agree in number.
How Many Objects?
Our sentence – O Joel deu uma flor à Isabel – takes both a direct and an indirect object.
However, that’s not always the case: while some verbs take both, others take only one or even none.
Direct and Indirect Object
A Susana mostra o seu carro novo ao seu amigo.
Susana shows her new car to her friend.
[direct object pronoun]
A Susana mostra–o ao seu amigo.
Susana shows it to her friend.
[indirect object pronoun]
A Susana mostra–lhe o seu carro.
Susana shows him her new car.
Direct Object Only
Leste as notícias?
Did you read the news?
[direct object pronoun]
Leste-as?
Did you read them?
Indirect Object Only
Respondeste ao Simão?
Did you answer Simão?
[indirect object pronoun]
Respondeste-lhe?
Did you answer him?
No Object (Intransitive)
Senta aqui.
Sit here.
Spelling modifications to direct object pronouns
Sometimes the third person (singular and plural) of direct object pronouns is subject to slight spelling adjustments, reflecting the spoken language and connected speech.
-lo, -la, -los, -las
If the verb ends in -r, -s, or -z, that ending drops and the pronouns -o, -a, -os, -as change to -lo, la, los, las:
-r
Vamos abrir as prendas?
Shall we open the presents?
Vamos abri-las?
Shall we open them?
-s
Comes a sopa sempre em último.
You always eat the soup last.
Come-la sempre no final.
You always eat it last.
-z
Diz lá o que pensas.
Just say what you think.
Di-lo.
Just say it.
💡Special cases.
→ Verbs querer and ter:
Ele quer o reembolso.
He wants the money back.
Ele quere–lo.
He wants it back.
Tens a carteira contigo?
Do you have your wallet with you?
Tem–la contigo?
Do you have it with you?
→ If the verb form ends in -ar or -az, a will take an accent mark to keep its open vowel sound:
–ar
Podes barrar a manteiga?
Could you spread the butter?
Podes barrá–la?
Could you spread it?
–az
Faz os deveres de casa!
Do your homework!
Fá–los!
Do it!
→ If the verb form ends in -er or -ez, e will take a circumflex accent to keep its closed vowel sound:
-er
Vamos beber um vinho tinto?
Shall we drink some red wine?
Vamos bebê–lo?
Shall we drink it?
–ez
O Ricardo fez uma omolete.
Ricardo cooked an omelet.
O Ricardo fê–la.
Ricardo cooked it.
-no, -na, -nos, -nas
If the verb form ends with a nasal sound (-m, -ão, -õe), the pronouns -o, -a, -os, -as change to -no, na, nos, nas:
-m
Eles desligaram os telemóveis.
They switched off their mobiles.
Eles desligaram-nos.
They switched them off.
-ão
Eles dão os livros de volta.
They give back the books.
Os alunos dão-nos de volta.
They give them back.
-õe
Ela põe as compras na mesa.
She puts the groceries on the table.
Ela põe-nas na mesa.
She puts them on the table.
Contraction of the direct and indirect object pronouns
When a verb takes both types of object pronouns, they’re often contracted:
| me + o | mo |
| me + a | ma |
| me + os | mos |
| me + as | mas |
| te + o | to |
| te + a | ta |
| te + os | tos |
| te + as | tas |
| lhe + o | lho |
| lhe + a | lha |
| lhe + os | lhos |
| lhe + as | lhas |
Here are a few examples with the verb dar*:
Ele deu-me um abraço. → Ele deu-mo.
He hugged me.
Eu dei-te uma prenda. → Eu dei-ta.
I gave you a gift.
Tu deste-lhe os livros. → Tu deste-lhos.
You gave her the books.
🔎 Learn more about Dar: The Portuguese Verb “Dar”: Usage and Idiomatic Expressions.
Word Order: Where Do They Go?
Object pronouns either come after or before the verb. The default is after (with a hyphen), but certain words trigger preverbal placement.
The principles guiding pronoun placement are the same for reflexive and object pronouns. Learn more about them here:
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