comigo/contigo/consigo/conosco/convosco

Pronoun-Preposition Fusions with Com

Level 1

In Portuguese, the preposition com (with) fuses with certain pronouns to create single words like comigo (with me) and contigo (with you).

How It Works

When you want to say 'with' followed by a person, Portuguese often uses a single fused word instead of two separate ones.

1. The Fused Forms:

  • Comigo: with me (com + mim)
  • Contigo: with you (informal 'tu')
  • Consigo: with him/her/you (reflexive or formal)
  • Conosco (BP) / Connosco (EP): with us
  • Convosco: with you all (plural 'vós')

2. Regional Differences:
In Brazil, conosco is formal; people usually say com a gente in daily life. Convosco is almost never used in Brazil, where com vocês is the standard. In Portugal, connosco and convosco are common, and consigo is the standard way to say 'with you' in formal situations.

3. The 'Consigo' Chameleon:
In all variants of Portuguese, consigo is reflexive, meaning it refers back to the subject (e.g., 'He took it with him[self]'). However, in Portugal, it is also the polite way to say 'with you' (formal).

4. When NOT to fuse:
You do not fuse 'com' with ele, ela, eles, elas, você, or vocês. You simply say com ele, com você, etc.

5. The 'Com nós' Exception:
If the word 'nós' is followed by a modifier like todos (all), mesmos (selves), or a number, you must use com nós instead of conosco. For example: com nós todos (with all of us).

Examples (5)

  1. Você quer ir ao cinema comigo?

    Do you want to go to the cinema with me?

    Word by Word: You want to-go to-the cinema with-me?

    'Comigo' is the mandatory fusion of 'com' and the first-person pronoun.

  2. Eu gosto muito de falar contigo.

    I like talking with you (informal) very much.

    Word by Word: I like much of to-talk with-you.

    'Contigo' is used with the informal 'tu' address.

  3. Ele sempre leva o celular consigo.

    He always takes his cell phone with him.

    Word by Word: He always takes the cell-phone with-himself.

    Here, 'consigo' is reflexive, referring back to the subject 'Ele'.

  4. Eles querem almoçar conosco amanhã.

    They want to have lunch with us tomorrow.

    Word by Word: They want to-lunch with-us tomorrow.

    'Conosco' is the standard fusion for 'with us' in formal Brazilian or standard European Portuguese.

  5. O professor falou com nós dois.

    The teacher spoke with the two of us.

    Word by Word: The teacher spoke with us two.

    We use 'com nós' instead of 'conosco' because it is followed by the number 'dois'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'com mim' or 'com ti'.

    Ele falou com mim.
    Ele falou comigo.

    Even though 'mim' and 'ti' are used with other prepositions (like 'para mim'), they must fuse with 'com' to become 'comigo' and 'contigo'.

  • Using 'conosco' when a modifier follows 'us'.

    Ele vai conosco todos.
    Ele vai com nós todos.

    When 'nós' is modified by words like 'todos', 'mesmos', or numbers, the fusion 'conosco' is broken back into 'com nós'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

comigo/contigo/consigo/conosco/convoscoLevel 1Pronoun-Preposition Fusions with Com

Learn This First

To understand these fused forms, you first need to know the basic preposition 'com' (with) and the subject pronouns they represent. These forms are unique contractions used instead of saying 'com eu' or 'com nós'.

Words in This Pattern

comigocontigoconsigoconoscoconvosco