Direct object pronouns: me, te, o, a, nos, os, as

The forms

Each pronoun swaps in for the person receiving the action:

Everyday talk

• "Me liga hoje à noite." (Call me tonight.)

• "Te espero na porta." (I'll wait for you at the door.)

• "Não o vi hoje." (I didn't see him today.)

• "A encontrei no shopping." (I ran into her at the mall.)

• "Ele nos convidou para jantar." (He invited us for dinner.)

Texting a friend

• "Te amo!" (Love you!)

• "Me chama mais tarde." (Message me later.)

• "Te mando o endereço." (I'll send you the address.)

• "Não me esquece!" (Don't forget me!)

The você puzzle

Você is 3rd person, so its object pronoun is o/a — and it has to match the person's gender, which trips people up. Most Brazilians sidestep it entirely: Eu vi você.

Yes, you can start with a pronoun

Textbooks forbid opening a sentence with an object pronoun; Brazilians do it constantly:

• Traditional: ✗ Me chama João → Reality: ✓ Me chama João

• Traditional: ✗ Te amo → Reality: ✓ Te amo

Dodging -lo / -la

The -lo/-la forms feel formal, so in speech Brazilians swap them out:

• Instead of Vou comprá-lo, they say Vou comprar or Vou comprar ele.

Brazil's proclisis went global in 2011: Michel Teló's smash Ai Se Eu Te Pego ("Oh, If I Catch You") puts the object pronoun te right before its verb — te pego — the unmistakably Brazilian order. The song hit number one in more than 20 countries after footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo danced to it at goal celebrations. Source: Campo Grande News.