What’s up, galera! How are you? Let’s study one more Dica of Portuguese for foreigners. We are going to learn about the Portuguese object pronouns. This includes the direct object pronouns in Portuguese and the indirect too!
Portuguese object pronouns are those used to substitute a personal pronoun or a noun. They can be direct objects or indirect objects.
Direct object pronouns in Portuguese
Direct object pronouns are used to substitute a personal pronoun or a noun that doesn’t depend on a preposition. Let’s take a look:
Object pronouns Me and Nos

The pronouns me and nos replace the pronouns eu and nós (I and We). They usually come before the main verb in oral speech. And if you’re using two verbs in the sentence, they’ll come in the middle of them. Let’s see some examples!
Meu filho não me obedece.
My son doesn’t obey me.
Você precisa me respeitar.
You need to respect me.
Márcia vai nos encontrar amanhã à tarde.
Márcia will meet us tomorrow afternoon.
Eles estão nos esperando no metrô.
They are waiting for us at the metro.
Você pode me ajudar?
Can you help me?
Obs. Brazilians tend to say ‘a gente’ (us/we) instead of ‘nós’. In this case, ‘a gente’ comes after the main verb.
Márcia vai encontrar a gente amanhã à tarde.
Márcia will meet us tomorrow afternoon.
Eles estão esperando a gente no metrô.
They are waiting for us at the metro.
To understand this better, take a look at the vídeo below. Don’t forget to activate the subtitles!
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Object pronouns o, a, os, as

The pronouns o, a, os, as will replace the pronouns você(s), ele(s), ela(s) used in the previous sentence. These direct object pronouns in Portuguese are also seen before a verb. Let’s learn how we form them!

Now, let’s see some examples.
Você viu o João? Eu não o vejo desde ontem.
Have you seen João? I haven’t seen him since yesterday.
Eu busquei a Maria em casa. Eu a busquei em casa.
I picked Maria up at home. I picked her up at home.
Mauro e Pedro, eu encontro vocês após a aula. Eu os encontro após a aula.
Mauro and Pedro, I‘ll meet you after the class.
Ontem eu vi a Cíntia e a Cláudia no centro. Eu as vi rapidamente.
Yesterday I saw Cíntia and Cláudia downtown. I saw them just quickly.
Você fez aulas de Português online? Sim, eu as fiz durante o mês passado.
Did you take Portuguese classes online? Yes, I took them over the past month.
Check out this vídeo about these Portuguese direct object Pronouns:
Object pronouns -lo, -la, -los, -las

These object pronouns are usually used after a verb in the infinitive. We take the letter R and add the pronouns lo, la, los, las. The verbs ending in -ar and -er, usually have an accent mark added on the final vowel; in same cases, verbs ending in -ir too.

Quero comprar esses livros. Quero comprá-los.
I want to buy these books. I want to buy them.
Não gosto mais dessa casa, por isso quero vendê-la.
I don’t like this house, that’s why I want to sell it.
Alguém está batendo à porta. Vou abri-la.
Someone is knocking at the door. I’ll open it.
Esta canetas não funcionam bem. Vamos substituí-las.
These pens don’t work well. Let’s change them.
Take a look at Moisés’ explanation to understand it better:
Object Pronouns -no, -na, -nos, -nas

The pronouns no, na, nos, nas, are usually seen after a verb that ends with the letter -m, which has been conjugated. And they do the same thing as all the others above: replace the noun that you‘ve already mentioned – to avoid repeating yourself.

Queria comprar o livro.
Compraram-no ontem. Sinto muito!
I wanted to buy the book.
Someone bought it yesterday. I’m sorry!
Fizeram as tarefas?
Fizeram-nas.
Did they do the tasks?
They did them.
– Eles viram as crianças na rua?
– Sim, eles viram-nas.
– Did they see the children on the street?
– Yes, they saw them.
Viram-nas, is at the third person of the plural on the past tense of the verb ver (To see), and -nas is in reference of the children. This M and this N, are used because of a sound agreement matter, since it is a nasal sound: M and N. Otherwise it would be viram-as, and it wouldn’t sound very good. So, viram-nas.
– As crianças comeram a comida?
– Sim, comeram-na.
– Did the children eat the food?
– Yes, they ate it.
Portuguese object pronouns: indirect object
The pronouns me (for me), lhe (for you, him, her), nos (for us), lhes (for them/you or speaking plural), are indirect object pronouns. Remember that the preposition para has a twin that can replace it: a. These pronouns replace personal pronouns or names that depend of a preposition.
Pronouns me e nos

Me and Nos can also be indirect object pronouns. They replace the pronouns ‘eu’ and ‘nós’, and usually refer/indicate an indirect action, with verbs that have prepositions in their structure. These pronouns generally come before the main conjugated verb.
João ligou para mim ontem à noite.
João me ligou ontem à noite.
João called me yesterday.
Minha amiga deu um presente de aniversário para mim.
Minha amiga me deu um presente de aniversário.
My friend gave me a birthday gift.
Você pode trazer um pouco de água para nós?
Você pode nos trazer um pouco de água?
Can you bring us a glass of water?
Ela vai explicar o problema para nós.
Ela vai nos explicar o problema.
She will explain to us the problem.
Você tem algum problema? Nós, da Rio & Learn, podemos ajudar a você.
Você tem algum problema? Nós, da Rio & Learn, podemos lhe ajudar.
Do you have any problems? We, from Rio & Learn, can help you.
O pronome lhe, lhes

The pronouns lhe e lhes are used to replace the pronouns você(s), ele(s) or ela(s) and they are also intended to promote an indirect action (with verbs that have prepositions in their structure). These pronouns generally come before the main conjugated verb.
João, vou trazer um copo de suco para você.
João, vou lhe trazer um copo de suco.
João, I will bring you a glass of juice.
Você precisa explicar para elas o que está acontecendo
Você precisa lhes explicar o que está acontecendo.
You need to explain to them what is happening.
Você já mostrou os novos produtos aos clientes? Sim. Eu já mostrei para eles.
Você já mostrou os novos produtos aos clientes? Sim. Eu já lhes mostrei.
Did you show the new products to the clients? Yes, I showed them.
Mim in Portuguese
Mim is the object pronoun related to the personal pronoun Eu. We can only use Mim after the verb, and it comes directly after a preposition:
- Para mim
- Por mim
- Em mim
- De mim
- Sem mim
Usually, when we use the pronoun mim in Portuguese, it comes at the end of the sentence, so you’ll see that we have a question mark or a period after it. Let’s take a look at some examples:
Examples
Por que estão todos olhando para mim?
Why is everybody looking at me?
Você pode fazer isso por mim?
Can you do it for me?
Quando eu estava pintando a casa, caiu tinta em mim.
When I was painting the house, some paint fell on me.
Ela não gosta de mim, mas não sei porquê.
She doesn’t like me, but I don’t know why.
Vocês não podem ir para a Lapa sem mim!
You can’t go to Lapa without me!
Comigo in Portuguese
When we use the preposition Com with the pronoun Eu, we must use the contracted form Comigo. The same happens to the pronouns Tu and Nós. Take a look:
| Com eu | Comigo |
| Com tu | Contigo |
| Com nós | Conosco |
Examples
Você quer dançar comigo?
Would you like to dance with me?
Oi, Carlos! Preciso falar contigo.
Hi, Carlos! I need to talk to you.
Os alunos sempre vão às RioLIVE! conosco.
The students always go to RioLIVE! with us.
Gostaria de ir comigo ao cinema?
Would you like to go to the movies with me?
Muito bom estar contigo hoje.
Great being with you today.
Ele deve se encontrar conosco às 9 da manhã.
He should meet us at 9 a.m.
Instead of using Contigo, we can also use Com você, and it will give a more informal idea.
How about we practice a little bit?
FAQ about Portuguese object pronouns
What’s the difference between direct and indirect object pronouns in Portuguese?
A direct object pronoun doesn’t need a preposition to connect to the verb (e.g. “eu o vi” — I saw him), while an indirect object pronoun always depends on a preposition, usually para or a (e.g. “eu lhe disse” — I told you, which replaces “eu disse para você”).
When do you use “lhe” and when do you use “o/a” in Portuguese?
Lhe and lhes are indirect object pronouns and replace para você/ele/ela and para vocês/eles/elas. O, a, os, and as are direct object pronouns and replace the person or thing directly, with no preposition. In informal spoken Brazilian Portuguese, though, it’s common to hear lhe used in place of o/a as well.
Why do we say “comigo,” “contigo,” and “conosco” instead of “com eu,” “com tu,” “com nós”?
These are mandatory contracted forms: Portuguese doesn’t allow com eu, com tu, or com nós — the preposition com merges with these pronouns to form comigo, contigo, and conosco. With the other pronouns (você, ele, ela, vocês, eles, elas), there’s no contraction: we simply say com você, com ele, and so on.
Do object pronouns always come before the verb?
Not necessarily. In everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese, object pronouns usually come before the main verb (“eu te vejo”). But in some cases — like after verbs in the infinitive (with -lo/-la) or verbs ending in -m/-ão (with -no/-na) — they come after and attach to the word.
Now it’s your turn!
Complete the sentences with the correct object pronoun and tell us if they are direct or indirect objects.
- (você) João, eu não _______ vi na escola ontem. (_________)
- (eu) Marina ______ convidou para sua festa. (_________)
- (ela) Magda, eu _______ vi na praia ontem à tarde. (_________)
- (nós) Ele vai ________ trazer um copo de café. (_________)
- (eles) Amanhã, vamos ________ mostrar a cidade. (_________)
- (ele) A polícia _______ tirou todas as informações. (_________)
- (eu) Ela ______ deu um livro novo. (_________)
- (elas) Nós não _______ encontramos na rua. (_________)
- (eu) José ________ encontrou cedo para a reunião. (_________)
- (elas) Você viu as meninas. Não. Eu não ________ vi. (_________)
One more exercise!
Complete the sentences correctly according to the pronoun and preposition in parentheses:
- Eles vão trabalhar (com) ______.(nós)
- Ele conversa muito (com) ______.(eu)
- Ele deu um livro (para) _______.(eu)
- Ele vive pensando (em) ____.(eu)
- Papai nos ama e faz tudo (por) _______.(nós)
- João tem uma notícia (para) _______.(nós)
- Minha mãe vai almoçar (com) _________.(nós)
- Meu filho precisa (de) ______ para tudo. (eu)
- Ela não posso sair à noite (sem) ______.(eu)
- Eles gostam demais (de) _______.(nós).
- Venha (com) ________ (nós). Vai ser legal!
- Ela não fala (com) _______ (eu). Não sei por quê.
- Ela vai sair (com) ________ (nós) amanhã à noite.
That’s it, galera!
Now we know a little bit more about object pronouns in Portuguese!
We’ll see each other in the next Dica.
Hugs!

Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
How to use Lhe in Portuguese
Possessive Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Answers
- o – objeto direto
- me – objeto direto
- a – objeto direto
- nos – objeto indireto
- lhes – objeto indireto
- lhe – objeto indireto
- me – objeto indireto
- as – objeto direto
- me – objeto direto
- as – objeto direto
One more exercise: Answers
- conosco
- comigo
- para mim
- em mim
- por nós
- para nós
- conosco
- de mim
- sem mim
- de nós
- conosco
- comigo
- conosco
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