estou te dizendo/estou a dizer-te

In Portuguese, when you use a progressive construction (the 'ing' form in English), the placement of clitic pronouns like me, te, o, a, nos, vos, os, as follows regional rules:

1. Brazilian Portuguese (BP):
Brazilians favor proclisis (placing the pronoun before the main verb). The pronoun 'floats' as a separate, standalone word between the auxiliary verb estar and the gerund.

• Structure: estar + pronoun + gerund
• Note: While this 'floating' pronoun is the universal standard in spoken and modern BP, strict traditional grammar prefers attaching the pronoun with a hyphen to the auxiliary (estou-te dizendo) or the gerund (estou dizendo-te). In informal speech, Brazilians often use subject pronouns as objects (e.g., estou vendo ele).

2. European Portuguese (EP):
In affirmative sentences, Europeans always attach the pronoun with a hyphen. Crucially, leaving the pronoun 'floating' as a separate word without a hyphen between the verbs (e.g., estou te a ver) is strictly prohibited and always considered a spelling/grammar error in EP. They use two main structures. The most standard is enclisis to the infinitive, but 'clitic climbing' (moving the pronoun to the auxiliary) is also common for pronouns like me, te, se, nos, vos, lhe, lhes.

• Standard: estar a + infinitive-pronoun (e.g., estou a ver-te)
• Climbing: estar-pronoun + a + infinitive (e.g., estou-te a ver)
• Important: Clitic climbing with the pronouns o, a, os, as is completely standard in EP (e.g., estou-o a ver); however, attaching them to the infinitive (e.g., estou a vê-lo) is extremely common and often the preferred choice in both spoken and written EP to avoid an awkward vowel clash (hiatus).
• Regional Gerund: While the estar a + infinitive structure is standard, the gerund is still widely used in Southern Portugal (Alentejo, Algarve) and autonomous regions (Madeira, Azores). When used, it strictly follows EP hyphenation rules (estou-te dizendo or estou dizendo-te), never the BP floating rule.

3. The 'Magnetic' Rule & Negation:
Certain words (like não or nunca) pull the pronoun to the front.

• In BP: The pronoun can either stay 'floating' before the gerund (Não estou te dizendo) or be pulled in front of the auxiliary (Não te estou dizendo). Note that while the floating version is the modern spoken standard, strict traditional grammar (important for formal exams like Celpe-Bras) requires the negative word to attract the pronoun to the auxiliary.
• In EP: This usually results in the pronoun moving before the auxiliary as a separate word without a hyphen: Não te estou a ver. Notice that the hyphen is dropped when the pronoun is pulled to the front. However, keeping the pronoun at the end of the infinitive (Não estou a ver-te) is also grammatically correct. The only strict prohibition in EP is placing the pronoun after the auxiliary in a negative sentence (e.g., Não estou-te a ver is incorrect).