não lhe falarei / falar-lhe-ei

In standard European Portuguese (EP), the synthetic future and conditional tenses have a unique rule: they do not allow enclisis (pronoun at the end). Instead, they use mesoclisis (pronoun in the middle).

However, there is a hierarchy of rules. The rule for proclisis triggers (words that force the pronoun to the front) is higher than the rule for mesoclisis. If a trigger is present, mesoclisis is cancelled.

Common Triggers include:

• Negatives: não, nunca, jamais, nada, ninguém.
• Indefinite Pronouns: alguém, tudo, todos, ambos.
• Relative Pronouns: que, quem, o qual.
• Subordinating Conjunctions: que, porque, quando, se, embora.
• Certain Adverbs: já, ainda, sempre, talvez, também.
• Interrogative Words: Quem...? O que...?

Simple Subjects Are Not Triggers: In standard European Portuguese, simple subjects (like Eu, Ele, O João) do not trigger proclisis. This is why mesoclisis often appears in the middle of a sentence (e.g., O médico dir-lhe-á a verdade).

The Comma Rule: If a trigger word is followed by a comma, it loses its 'magnetic' power, and mesoclisis is used instead of proclisis (e.g., Sempre lhe direi a verdade vs. Sempre, dir-lhe-ei a verdade).

Spelling Note: When using the third-person pronouns (o, a, os, as) in mesoclisis, the 'r' of the infinitive is dropped, and the pronoun changes to -lo, -la, -los, -las. When this happens, the final vowel of the verb stem often requires a graphic accent to maintain the stress: á for -ar verbs, ê for -er verbs, no accent for -ir verbs, and a circumflex accent ô for -or verbs like pôr and its derivatives (e.g., comprá-lo-ei, vendê-lo-ei, parti-lo-ei, pô-lo-ei, compô-lo-ia). In contrast, the pronouns me, te, lhe, lhes, nos, vos do not cause the 'r' to drop, regardless of whether they are direct or indirect objects (e.g., falar-lhe-ei, ajudar-te-ei).

Combined Pronouns: In European Portuguese, it is very common to combine indirect and direct object pronouns into portmanteaus (mo, to, lho, no-lo, vo-lo, etc.). These combined pronouns follow the exact same mesoclisis rules as single pronouns (e.g., dar-lho-ei, fá-lho-á).

Irregular Verbs: The verbs fazer, dizer, and trazer use their contracted stems (far-, dir-, trar-) in mesoclisis. For example: fá-lo-ei, dir-lhe-ei, and trá-los-ia. Note that when dizer is combined with direct object pronouns, it becomes di-lo-ei (without a graphic accent, as words ending in a stressed 'i' do not require one).

Register and Tone: Mesoclisis is highly formal, literary, and rarely used in spontaneous speech today. It is mostly found in literature, journalism, formal speeches, and official documents. While standard EP strictly forbids enclisis with future/conditional tenses, informal spoken EP frequently allows it (e.g., falarei-lhe) because mesoclisis feels too archaic or heavy.

Workarounds in Spoken Portuguese: A core survival tip for learners is that native speakers largely avoid mesoclisis in daily life. For the future tense, they use the analytic future (ir + infinitivo), saying vou falar-lhe instead of falar-lhe-ei. For the conditional tense, spoken European Portuguese typically replaces it with the imperfect tense (e.g., dizia-lhe instead of dir-lhe-ia).

In Brazilian Portuguese (BP), spoken and informal language almost always prefers proclisis regardless of triggers. However, to become proficient in formal written BP (such as exams or academic writing) and European Portuguese, this hierarchy is essential, as formal BP still requires mesoclisis when a sentence starts with a future or conditional verb.