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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:

SubjectJoel
Verb (action)deu (verb dar)
Direct objecta flor
Indirect objectà 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 PRONOUNINDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN
Eumeme
Tutete
Ele, Elao, lhe
Nósnosnos
Vocêsvosvos
Eles, Elasos, 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 mostrao ao seu amigo.
Susana shows it to her friend.

[indirect object pronoun]
A Susana mostralhe 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.

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