by Olly RichardsWhen 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 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?
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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Table of Contents
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:
- Don't take that suitcase. It’s mine.
In this sentence, “mine” 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 Portuguese Pronouns
The most basic kind of Portuguese pronoun are personal pronouns in Portuguese. 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 | Você/tu |
| He/she/it | Ele/ela |
| We | Nós |
| You (plural) | Vocês |
| 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:
- Você mandou uma mensagem.
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:
- Nós 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:
- Vocês não estão 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 estão fazendo trilha.
#2 Possessive Portuguese Pronouns
Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership of something. For example, you would say “it's mine”, “those are his”, “that's theirs” to indicate that something belongs to someone.
Here’s a list of possessive pronouns:
| English | Portuguese |
| Mine | Meu(s)/minha(s) |
| Yours | Seu(s)/sua(s) Teus(s)/tua(s) De você |
| His/her/hers/its | Seu(s)/sua(s) Dele/dela |
| Ours | Nosso(s)/nossa(s) |
| Yours (pl.) | Seu(s)/sua(s)/de vocês |
| Theirs | Seu(s)/sua(s) Deles/delas |
Here are some examples of how to use possessive pronouns in English and Portuguese:
Example 1:
- That’s mine.
Ask the question: Whose car is it?
Answer: Mine.
Therefore “mine” is the possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Aquele é meu.
Example 2:
- Those are yours.
Ask the question: Whose gifts are they?
Answer: Yours.
Therefore, “yours” is the possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Aqueles são seus/teus.
Example 3:
- Hers.
Ask the question: Whose eyes are beautiful?
Answer: Hers.
Therefore, “hers” is the possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Os dela.
Example 4:
- This is ours.
Ask the question: Whose house is it?
Answer: Ours.
Therefore, “ours” is the correct possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Essa é nossa.
Example 5:
- Those are yours.
Ask the question: Whose receipts are they?
Answer: Yours.
Therefore, “yours” is the possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Aqueles são de vocês.
Example 6:
- Those are theirs.
Ask the question: Whose keys are they?
Answer: Theirs.
Therefore “their” is the correct possessive pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and identify the correct possessive pronoun in Portuguese:
- Aqueles são deles.
#3 Direct Object Portuguese 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 “am 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 “whom” or “what” in the sentence.
Here’s a list of direct object Portuguese pronouns:
| English | Portuguese |
| Me | Me |
| You | Te/você |
| Him/her/it | O/a / ele/ela |
| Us | Nos |
| You(plural) | Vos/vocês |
| Them | Os/as / eles/elas |
Here’s how we use direct object pronouns in English and Portuguese:
Example 1:
- Can you hear me?
Ask the question: Whom 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:
- Você pode me ouvir?
Example 2:
- I am inviting you.
Ask the question: Whom 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 te convidando.
Example 3:
- I am visiting her.
Ask the question: Whom 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 ela.
Example 4:
- They are seeing us.
Ask the question: Whom or what are they seeing?
Answer: us
Therefore “us” is the direct object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct direct object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Eles estão nos vendo.
Example 5:
- We are calling you.
Ask the question: Whom are we calling?
Answer: You
Therefore, “you” is the direct object pronoun.
Now, look on the chart and find the correct direct object pronoun in Portuguese:
- Nós estamos chamando vocês.
Example 6:
- He is serving them.
Ask the question: Whom 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 está servindo eles.
#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 the direct object example, for the indirect object pronouns, you ask “To or For Whom?” something is 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 você |
| Him/her/it, to/for him/her/it | Lhe, para ele/ela |
| Us, to/for us | Nos, para nós |
| You(pl), to/for you(pl) | Lhes, para vocês |
| 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 você.
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 nós.
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 vocês.
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 trabalhou 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.
FAQs About Portuguese Pronouns
How many pronouns are there in Portuguese?
Portuguese has several types of pronouns, including subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive pronouns, and reflexive pronouns.
The primary subject pronouns are: eu (I), tu (you, informal), você (you, formal/informal), ele/ela (he/she), nós (we), vós (archaic, you plural), vocês (you plural), eles/elas (they, masculine/feminine).
Does Portuguese have gendered pronouns?
Yes, Portuguese uses gendered pronouns. The third-person pronouns ele (he) and ela (she) reflect the gender of the person being referred to, and this extends to plural forms (eles/elas), as well as some possessive pronouns like seu (his) and sua (hers).
Do you need pronouns in Portuguese?
Pronouns in Portuguese are not always necessary, especially with verbs, because verb conjugations indicate the subject. However, they are used for clarity or emphasis. For example, Eu falo (I speak) can simply be Falo if the context is clear.
Is it Tu or Você in Portugal?
In Portugal, tu is commonly used in informal situations, while você is less frequent and reserved for more formal or distant interactions. In contrast, você is used more often in Brazil, even in informal contexts.
Mastering Portuguese Pronouns
Besides the personal, possessive, direct and indirect pronouns explored in this post, there are many more kinds of Portuguese 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.
Most of all, follow the rules of StoryLearning and read books in Portuguese at your level. As you read, you'll see Portuguese pronouns over and over and they'll quickly become second nature.
