B2Lesson 6: Complex Pronominalization
Clitic climbing is the ability of object pronouns to "climb up" from an infinitive or gerund to attach to the auxiliary/modal verb in complex verbal structures, creating options like "te quero ver" vs "quero ver-te" (I want to see you), with Brazilian Portuguese strongly preferring the climbed position while European Portuguese maintains more flexibility.
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Imagine pronouns as little monkeys that can climb up the verbal tree. In simple sentences, they stay with their verb: "vejo-te" (I see you). But add a helping verb, and suddenly these pronouns can scramble up to the higher branch: "posso te ver" instead of "posso ver-te." That's clitic climbing!
When you have auxiliary/modal + infinitive/gerund, the pronoun has three possible positions:
In Brazilian Portuguese, option 1 dominates. In European Portuguese, all three live happily.
| Verb | Climbed | Non-climbed | Brazilian Preference |
|---|---|---|---|
| poder | me pode ajudar | pode ajudar-me | me pode ajudar |
| dever | te devo dizer | devo dizer-te | te devo dizer |
| querer | o quero ver | quero vê-lo | o quero ver / quero ver ele |
| precisar | nos precisa avisar | precisa avisar-nos | nos precisa avisar |
