A2 (Elementary)Lesson 5: Object Pronouns & Basic Placement
In ordinary prepositional complements, eu becomes mim and tu becomes ti; the other forms in this lesson keep their shape. Com has fused forms such as comigo, contigo and conosco. In standard Portuguese, use mim as a prepositional complement and eu as the grammatical subject of an infinitive: para eu fazer.
In the ordinary complements shown here, eu → mim and tu → ti; the other displayed forms do not change. This does not cover infinitive subjects or every atypical preposition.
Comigo, contigo, conosco, consigo and convosco are fused forms. Com você has two words; com a gente has three.
Mim is an ordinary prepositional complement; eu is the subject of an infinitive in standard Portuguese: Isso é para eu fazer.
Decide by grammatical role, not the next word: Para mim, ler é fácil can contain mim before an infinitive.
Entre mim e você is the traditional formal recommendation; coordinated phrases also allow variation such as entre eu e você.
Com a gente is informal; conosco works in speech and writing. Ti/contigo usage varies and can occur with você.
Si and consigo are valid third-person reflexive forms in Brazil, singular or plural; they are not reflexive forms for every person.
preposition + mim / ti / você / ele / ela / nós / a gente / vocês / eles / elas · com + eu/tu/nós = comigo / contigo / conosco · para + eu/você/ele + infinitive, when the pronoun is the grammatical subject of the infinitive (para eu fazer = for me to do)
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These forms occur in everyday phrases: para mim (for me), com ele (with him), sem você (without you), depende de nós (it depends on us). Distinguishing a prepositional complement from the subject of an infinitive helps you understand both speech and formal writing, without relying on the misleading “next word is a verb” shortcut.
In the ordinary prepositional complements shown below, two subject-pronoun forms change: eu becomes mim and tu becomes ti.
| Subject form | After a preposition | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | mim | Isso é para mim. | This is for me. |
| tu | ti | Comprei um doce para ti. | I bought a sweet for you. |
| você | você | Trouxe isso para você. | I brought this for you. |
| ele / ela | ele / ela | Falei com ela ontem. | I spoke with her yesterday. |
| nós | nós | Guarde um lugar para nós. | Save a place for us. |
| a gente | a gente | Isso é ótimo para a gente. | That's great for us. |
| Portuguese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Esta encomenda é para mim? | Is this package for me? |
| Você quer ir ao cinema comigo? | Do you want to go to the movies with me? |
| Separei estas fotos para você ver. | I set these photos aside for you to see. |
| A festa é para a gente comemorar. | The party is for us to celebrate. |
| Eu não vou sem você. | I'm not going without you. |
| Ele fez tudo isso por mim. | He did all of this because of me. |
| Vem com a gente, vai ser divertido! | Come with us, it's going to be fun! |
| Comprei um livro para ele ler na viagem. | I bought a book for him to read on the trip. |
| Ela chegou depois de mim. | She arrived after me. |
| Sobrou alguma coisa para nós? | Is there anything left for us? |
Using com eu or unmodified com nós in standard Portuguese. ❌ Você vai com eu? → ✅ Você vai comigo? (Are you going with me?) ❌ Ele mora com nós → ✅ Ele mora com a gente. (He lives with us.) Ele mora conosco is also valid in speech and writing; a modified phrase can use com nós dois.
Answering this subject question with mim. ❌ — Quem quer café? — Mim! → ✅ — Eu! (Me!) Here the answer identifies the subject of quer. Other short answers can have other grammatical roles.
Over-correcting into para eu. ❌ Este presente é para eu → ✅ Este presente é para mim. (This present is for me.) Here the pronoun is a prepositional complement, not the subject of an infinitive.
Treating ti as universally required or unusable. Usage varies by region and speaker, including combinations with você. ✅ Trouxe um café para você. (I brought you a coffee.) is another option.
Leaving ordinary complements uncontracted. ❌ Eu gosto de ele → ✅ Eu gosto dele. (I like him.) ❌ Pensei em ela → ✅ Pensei nela. (I thought about her.) Separate forms are possible at an infinitive-clause boundary, as in antes de ele sair.
Restricting conosco to writing. ✅ Vem com a gente! (Come with us!) is informal; Vem conosco! is valid in speech too.
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