Brazilian vs European Clitic Placement

Level 3

Brazilian Portuguese (BP) favors proclisis (pronoun before the verb), while European Portuguese (EP) favors enclisis (pronoun after the verb). Both varieties use proclisis when 'trigger words' like negatives or relative pronouns are present.

How It Works

Clitic placement (colocação pronominal) involves three positions:

  • Próclise: Before the verb (Me ajuda).
  • Ênclise: After the verb with a hyphen (Ajuda-me).
  • Mesóclise: Inside the verb (Ajudar-me-ia).

1. The Brazilian Default:
In Brazil, proclisis is the natural choice for almost all spoken contexts. Even starting a sentence with a pronoun (e.g., 'Me dá um café') is standard in daily life. Mesoclisis is virtually extinct in Brazil, appearing only in extremely formal or archaic writing.

2. The European Default:
In Portugal, enclisis is the standard. It is a strict rule in EP that a sentence cannot start with a clitic pronoun. Therefore, 'Dá-me um café' is the only correct way to start that sentence.

3. The 'Trigger' Rule (Universal):
Both variants agree that certain words 'attract' the pronoun to the front. These include:

  • Negatives: Não me diga.
  • Question words and Subordinating Conjunctions: Quem te viu? or Espero que me ajude.
  • Adverbs: Frequency adverbs (Sempre te vejo) trigger proclisis, but note that in EP, adverbs of time (like ontem) often do not.

4. Morphological Changes:
In EP enclisis, specific verb endings change the pronouns o/a:

  • Verbs ending in -r, -s, or -z change the pronoun to -lo/-la (e.g., Vou fazê-lo).
  • Verbs ending in nasal sounds (-m, -ão, -õe) change the pronoun to -no/-na (e.g., Dão-no).

Brazilians rarely use these forms in speech, preferring to drop the pronoun or use a subject pronoun colloquially.

Examples (5)

  1. BP: Me chamo Paulo. / EP: Chamo-me Paulo.

    My name is Paulo.

    Word by Word: Me I-call Paulo. / I-call-me Paulo.

    In Brazil, starting with the pronoun is natural. In Portugal, the pronoun must follow the verb.

  2. BP: Eu te amo. / EP: Amo-te.

    I love you.

    Word by Word: I you love. / I-love-you.

    BP uses proclisis even when a subject is present; EP defaults to enclisis unless a trigger is present.

  3. Não me diga isso!

    Don't tell me that!

    Word by Word: Not me tell that!

    Both variants use proclisis here because the negative word 'não' acts as a trigger.

  4. BP: Vou te ver. / EP: Vou ver-te.

    I'm going to see you.

    Word by Word: I-go you see. / I-go see-you.

    In compound verbs, BP places the pronoun before the infinitive, while EP attaches it to the end.

  5. BP: Me empresta o livro? / EP: Empresta-me o livro?

    Can you lend me the book?

    Word by Word: Me lend the book? / Lend-me the book?

    A classic example of sentence-initial placement differences.

Common Mistakes

  • Starting a sentence with a pronoun in Portugal.

    Me ajuda, por favor!
    Ajuda-me, por favor!

    In European Portuguese, it is grammatically incorrect to start a sentence with a clitic pronoun like 'me', 'te', or 'se'.

  • Using a hyphen with proclisis (pronoun before the verb).

    Eu te-amo.
    Eu te amo.

    Hyphens are only used for enclisis (after the verb) or mesoclisis (inside the verb). Proclisis never uses a hyphen.

  • Using enclisis in casual Brazilian speech.

    Vi-te no mercado.
    Te vi no mercado.

    While technically 'correct' in formal grammar, using enclisis in a casual Brazilian conversation sounds extremely stiff and unnatural.

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Brazilian vs European Clitic PlacementLevel 3

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