me/te/se/nos/vos/se

Reflexive pronouns are essential for expressing actions where the subject is also the recipient.

1. The Pronoun Forms:

• Eu: me (myself)
• Tu: te (yourself - informal)
• Você/Ele/Ela: se (yourself/himself/herself)
• A gente: se (ourselves / each other - informal BP). Note: The pronoun 'a gente' always takes the third-person reflexive pronoun 'se' (e.g., A gente se lava). Mixing it with 'nos' is a stigmatized grammatical error.
• Nós: nos (ourselves / each other)
• Vós: vos (yourselves / each other - archaic/regional)
• Vocês/Eles/Elas: se (yourselves/themselves / each other)

2. Placement (Clitic Placement):
The position of the pronoun depends on the dialect and sentence structure. In spoken and informal Brazilian Portuguese (BP), it usually comes before the verb (proclisis): Eu me lavo. In formal and written BP, proclisis is also widely accepted when an explicit subject is present, but the main strict rule is that a sentence cannot start with a pronoun. In European Portuguese (EP), the default is following the verb with a hyphen (enclisis): Lavo-me.

Crucial Formal Rule: In formal written Portuguese (both BP and EP), a sentence or clause can never start with a reflexive pronoun. While Brazilians often say Me chamo... in informal speech, in formal contexts and in Portugal you must say Chamo-me....

3. Attractor Words (Proclisis Triggers):
In formal Portuguese (both BP and EP), the pronoun moves before the verb if preceded by:

• Negatives (Não me lavo).
• Subordinating conjunctions (...quando se lava).
• Relative pronouns (O homem que se lava).
• Question words (Quem se lava?).
• Certain short adverbs (e.g., já, sempre, ainda) and Indefinite Pronouns (Já me lavei, Alguém se lavou). Note: If an adverb is followed by a comma, it breaks the trigger (e.g., Hoje, lavo-me).

4. Mesoclisis (EP Future/Conditional):
In EP, when using the Future or Conditional tenses without a proclisis trigger, the pronoun is placed in the middle of the verb (mesoclisis): Lavar-me-ei (I will wash myself). Note that mesoclisis is highly formal and mostly literary; everyday spoken EP often avoids it by using the periphrastic future (e.g., Vou lavar-me).

5. Special Phonological Rule:
When using nos after a verb ending in -s (1st person plural), the -s is dropped. For example: Levantamos + nos = Levantamo-nos.

6. Types of Usage:

• True Reflexive: Doing something to oneself (e.g., Eu me corto).
• Reciprocal: Doing something to each other (e.g., Eles se abraçam).
• Pronominal Verbs: Verbs that require the pronoun to function, like levantar-se or chamar-se.
• Passive/Impersonal 'se': Used when the subject is unknown or acted upon (e.g., Vende-se esta casa).

7. Additional Rules:

• Auxiliary Verbs (Locuções Verbais): The placement differs by region. In BP, the pronoun often floats before the main verb (e.g., Eu vou me lavar). In EP, it typically attaches to the infinitive (e.g., Vou lavar-me). Furthermore, in EP, if there is a negative trigger, the pronoun can attach to the auxiliary or the infinitive (e.g., Não me quero lavar or Não quero lavar-me).
• The Infinitive Trap: When attaching a reflexive pronoun to an infinitive, keep the final '-r' (e.g., lavar-se, not lavá-se).
• The Participle Rule: A pronoun can never attach to a participle in compound tenses. You can say Eu tinha-me lavado or Eu me tinha lavado, but never Eu tinha lavado-me.
• The Infinitive Exception: Verbs in the infinitive are often immune to proclisis triggers. Even with a negative word, enclisis is accepted (e.g., Para não se lavar and Para não lavar-se are both correct).

8. Stressed Reflexive Pronouns:
After prepositions, use stressed pronouns (mim, ti, si, nós, vós, si), often paired with mesmo/a for emphasis (e.g., Ele fala de si mesmo - He talks about himself).