by Olly Richards
When you learn Brazilian Portuguese, you have plenty of things to discover, like pronunciation, verbs and even the little things, like Portuguese pronouns.
But what are pronouns and why do you need to learn them?
Well, pronouns are basically very convenient shorthand in a language. For example, without the pronoun “they”, if you were trying to indicate a group of people, you would have to use all of their names individually. What if there were 50, 100 or thousands of people in that group? See how important and convenient pronouns are?
Knowing which pronoun to use in everyday situations is an important part of language fluency and helps you to be clear and precise in your communication.
For example, imagine in English if you asked someone:
Whose drink is this?
And the person replied “I” instead of “mine.” It would be confusing, wouldn’t it?
In this post, I’ll break down the pronouns in English and their Portuguese counterparts and give examples of how they’re used in a sentence.
I’ll also give you foolproof tools on how to identify the personal, possessive, direct and indirect objects in a sentence.
So, pay attention to these simple explanations so you can learn how to use Brazilian Portuguese pronouns the right way and even get a refresher on English pronouns.
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Brazilian Portuguese Pronouns
In Brazilian Portuguese, just like in English, people use pronouns to take the place of a noun in a sentence. Some examples of pronouns are personal pronouns: I, you, he, she, it and they.
- You are going to university.
“You” would be the personal pronoun in this sentence. In this case, the pronoun replaces the subject, the person doing the action in the sentence.
Pronouns can also be used to show possession:
- That’s my suitcase.
In this sentence, “my” is a possessive pronoun that shows that the suitcase belongs to me.
Also, pronouns can be used to indicate who or what is being affected by the verb, or the action, in a sentence:
- We are calling him.
In this sentence, “him” is the direct object pronoun being affected by the action “calling.”
In this sentence, however:
- I voted for her.
The object of the sentence “her” is being affected indirectly by the action verb “vote.” Therefore, it’s an indirect object pronoun.
#1 Personal Pronouns
The most basic kind of pronoun is the personal pronoun. This is the easiest and most familiar kind of pronoun there is, so I figured I’d start you off with this one.
The personal pronoun is the subject of the sentence and is the one doing the action.
A simple sentence structure would go like this:
Subject + verb + object.
For example:
- She is eating spaghetti.
The personal pronoun “she” is the subject of the sentence, and she is doing the action of eating.
Here is a list of personal pronouns:
| English | Portuguese |
| I | Eu |
| You | Voce/tu |
| He/she/it | Ele/ela |
| We | Nos |
| You (plural) | Voces |
| They | Eles/elas |
Here’s how we use personal pronouns in both English and Portuguese:
Example 1:
- I am watching a movie.
Ask the question: Who is watching a movie?
Answer: I am
Therefore, “I” is the personal pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct personal pronoun in Portuguese:
- Eu estou assistindo um filme.
Example 2:
- You sent a message.
Ask the question: Who sent a message?
Answer: You did
Therefore, “you” is the personal pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct personal pronoun in Portuguese:
- Voce mandou uma mensagen.
Example 3:
- He plays volleyball.
Ask the question: Who plays volleyball?
Answer: He does
Therefore, “he” is the personal pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct personal pronoun in Portuguese:
- Ele joga volley.
Example 4:
- We are making dinner.
Ask the question: Who is making dinner?
Answer: We are
Therefore, “we” is the personal pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct personal pronoun in Portuguese:
- Nos estamos preparando a janta.
Example 5:
- You aren’t following the rules.
Ask the question: Who isn’t following the rules?
Answer: You aren’t
Therefore, “you” is the personal pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct personal pronoun in Portuguese:
- Voces nao estao seguindo as regras.
Example 6:
- They are hiking.
Ask the question: Who is hiking?
Answer: They are
Therefore, “they” is the personal pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct personal pronoun in Portuguese:
- Eles estao fazendo trilha.
#2 Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership of something. For example, you would say “my car”, “his keys”, “their house” to indicate that something belongs to someone.
Here’s a list of possessive pronouns:
| English | Portuguese |
| My/mine | Meu(s)/minha(s) |
| Your/Yours | Seu(s)/sua(s) Teus(s)/tua(s) De voce |
| His/her/hers/its | Dele/seu(s) Dela/sua(s) |
| Our/ours | Nosso(s)/nossa(s) |
| Your/yours (pl.) | Seu(s)/sua(s)/de voces |
| Their/theirs | Dele(s)/dela(s) Seu(s) |
Here are some examples of how to use possessive pronouns in English and Portuguese:
Example 1:
- That’s my car.
Ask the question: Whose car is it?
Answer: My car
Therefore “my” is the possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Aquilo é meu carro.
Example 2:
- Those are your gifts.
Ask the question: Whose gifts are they?
Answer: Your gifts
Therefore, “your” is the possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Aqueles sao seus/teus presentes.
Example 3:
- Her eyes are beautiful.
Ask the question: Whose eyes are beautiful?
Answer: Her eyes
Therefore, “her” is the possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Os olhos dela sao bonitos.
Example 4:
- This is our house.
Ask the question: Whose house is it?
Answer: Our house
Therefore, “our” is the correct possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Essa é nossa casa.
Example 5:
- Those are your receipts.
Ask the question: Whose receipts are they?
Answer: Your receipts.
Therefore, “your” is the possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Aqueles sao os recibos de voces.
Example 6:
- Those are their keys.
Ask the question: Whose keys are they?
Answer: Their keys
Therefore “their” is the correct possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Aqueles sao as chaves deles.
#3 Direct Object Pronouns
Direct object pronouns are pronouns that replace the object in a sentence. They are called direct objects because they are being directly affected by the action or verb.
A simple sentence with a direct object looks like this:
Subject + Verb + Who or What (direct object)
For example, in the sentence:
- I am calling them.
- The subject of the sentence is “I”
- The verb is “calling”
- And the direct object (who or what I am calling) is “them”
Basically, when you use a direct object pronoun, you’re replacing the “who” or “what” in the sentence.
Here’s a list of direct object pronouns:
| English | Portuguese |
| Me | Me |
| You | Te |
| Him/her/it | O/a/lo/la |
| Us | Nos |
| You(plural) | Vos |
| Them | Os/as/los/las |
Here’s how we use direct object pronouns in English and Portuguese:
Example 1:
- Can you hear me?
Ask the question: Who or what can you hear?
Answer: Me
Therefore, “me” is the direct object of the sentence.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct direct object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Voce pode ouvir-me?
Example 2:
- I am inviting you.
Ask the question: Who or what am I inviting?
Answer: you
Therefore, “you” is the direct object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct direct object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Eu estou convidando-te.
Example 3:
- I am visiting her.
Ask the question: Who or what am I visiting?
Answer: her
Therefore “her” is the direct object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct direct object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Eu estou visitando-la.
Example 4:
- They are telling us.
Ask the question: Who or what are they telling?
Answer: us
Therefore “us” is the direct object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct direct object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Eles estao contando-nos.
Example 5:
- We are asking you.
Ask the question: Who are we asking?
Answer: You
Therefore, “you” is the direct object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct direct object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Nos estamos pedindo-vos.
Example 6:
- He is serving them.
Ask the question: Who or what is he serving?
Answer: them
Therefore “them” is the direct object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct direct object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Ele esta servindo-los.
#4 Indirect Object Pronouns
Indirect object pronouns are used to show to whom or for whom the action of a verb is performed. Unlike in the direct object examples above, with the indirect object, the pronoun is being indirectly affected by the action (verb).
Another way to distinguish between the direct and indirect object pronouns is instead of asking “Who or What” like in he direct object example, for the indirect object pronouns, you ask “To or For Whom?” is something being done.
Take this sentence for example:
- We gave the gift to him.
To find the indirect object pronoun, ask this question: To whom did we give the gift?
The answer: Him.
Therefore, “him” is the indirect object pronoun.
Here is a list of indirect object pronouns:
| English | Portuguese |
| Me, to/for me | Me, para mim |
| You, to/for you | Lhe, te, para voce |
| Him/her/it, to/for him/her/it | Lhe, para ele/ela |
| Us, to/for us | Nos, para nos |
| You(pl), to/for you(pl) | Lhes, para voces |
| Them, to/for them | Lhes, para eles/para elas |
Here’s how indirect objects are used in English and Portuguese:
Example 1:
- He spoke to me.
Ask the question: To whom did he speak?
Answer: Me
Therefore “me” is the indirect object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct indirect object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Ele falou para mim.
Example 2:
- I baked a cake for you.
Ask the question: For whom did I bake a cake?
Answer: You
Therefore, “you” is the indirect object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct indirect object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Eu assei um bolo para voce.
Example 3:
- She responded to him.
Ask the question: To whom did she respond?
Answer: To him
Therefore, “him” is the indirect object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct indirect object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Ela lhe respondeu.
Example 4:
- I did this for us.
Ask the question: For whom did I do this?
Answer: For us
Therefore, “us” is the indirect object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct indirect object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Eu fiz isso para nos.
Example 5:
- I brought something for you.
Ask the question: For whom did I bring something?
Answer: For you
Therefore, “you” is the indirect object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct indirect object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Eu trouxe algo para voces.
Example 6:
- She worked for them.
Ask the question: For whom did she work?
Answer: For them
Therefore, “them” is the indirect object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct indirect object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Ela trabalou para eles.
FYI: You won’t hear indirect object pronouns being used very often in spoken Portuguese. They’re mostly used in written form, so it’s still important to be familiar with them and to be able to use them correctly in writing.
Mastering Portuguese Pronouns
Besides the personal, possessive, direct and indirect pronouns explored in this post, there are many more kinds of pronouns such as demonstrative and indefinite pronouns.
But these basic pronouns are a great start to mastering Brazilian Portuguese pronouns.
Remember to practice your Brazilian Portuguese by immersing yourself in the language: signing up for a language exchange, listening to Brazilian music, watching Brazilian films and series and reading short stories in Brazilian Portuguese.
A fun exercise to see how well you’ve learned the Brazilian Portuguese pronouns is to print out the lyrics to a Brazilian Portuguese song and highlight the personal, possessive, direct and indirect pronouns in different colors. Try it and see!
