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A2 (Elementary)Lesson 5: Object Pronouns & Basic Placement
After a preposition, eu becomes mim and tu becomes ti â everything else keeps its usual shape â and com fuses into comigo, contigo, conosco. The item that decides whether you sound educated is para mim against para eu: use mim when the pronoun simply sits after the preposition, and eu when it is the one doing the verb that follows.
After a preposition, only two pronouns change: eu â mim and tu â ti. Everything else keeps its usual shape: para vocĂȘ (for you), com ele (with him), sem vocĂȘs (without you all), de nĂłs (of us).
com fuses into one word: comigo, contigo, conosco â but com vocĂȘ, com ele, com a gente stay apart.
The rule that matters: mim when the pronoun is just the object (Isso Ă© para mim â This is for me), eu when it is the subject of a following infinitive (Isso Ă© para eu fazer â This is for me to do).
Test it in one second: is there a verb right after the pronoun? Verb â eu. No verb â mim.
No verb after it means mim here too: entre mim e vocĂȘ (between you and me), not entre eu.
In speech, com a gente (with us) beats conosco by a mile, and contigo (with you) only lives where tu lives.
si and consigo are reflexive and rare in Brazil â recognize them, don't reach for them.
preposition + mim / ti / vocĂȘ / ele / ela / nĂłs / a gente / vocĂȘs / eles / elas · com + eu/tu/nĂłs = comigo / contigo / conosco · para + eu/vocĂȘ/ele + infinitive, when the pronoun does the next verb (para eu fazer = for me to do)
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Every preposition in the language needs these forms, so they turn up in your first hour of Portuguese and never stop: para mim (for me), com ele (with him), sem vocĂȘ (without you), depende de nĂłs (it depends on us). Get mim and eu backwards and the sentence still limps through, but it is the single feature Brazilians notice fastest in writing â para mim fazer (for me to do) is the classic marker of someone who did not finish school. Learning the one-second test now costs you nothing and saves you from a mistake that most native speakers never manage to unlearn.
Put a preposition in front of a pronoun and Portuguese asks for a special form â but only twice.
| Subject form | After a preposition | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | mim | Isso Ă© para mim. | This is for me. |
| tu | ti | Comprei um doce para ti. | I bought a sweet for you. |
| vocĂȘ | vocĂȘ | Trouxe isso para vocĂȘ. | I brought this for you. |
| ele / ela | ele / ela | Falei com ela ontem. | I spoke with her yesterday. |
| nĂłs | nĂłs | Guarde um lugar para nĂłs. | Save a place for us. |
| a gente | a gente | Isso Ă© Ăłtimo para a gente. | That's great for us. |
| Portuguese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Esta encomenda Ă© para mim? | Is this package for me? |
| VocĂȘ quer ir ao cinema comigo? | Do you want to go to the movies with me? |
| Separei estas fotos para vocĂȘ ver. | I set these photos aside for you to see. |
| A festa Ă© para a gente comemorar. | The party is for us to celebrate. |
| Eu nĂŁo vou sem vocĂȘ. | 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. |
Saying com eu or com nĂłs. The fusion isn't optional: â VocĂȘ vai com eu? â â VocĂȘ vai comigo? (Are you going with me?) And â Ele mora com nĂłs â â Ele mora com a gente. (He lives with us.)
Answering a question with mim. English "Me!" pushes learners the wrong way: â â Quem quer cafĂ©? â Mim! â â â Eu! (Me!) A bare answer is a subject, and subjects are eu.
Over-correcting into para eu. Once the para eu fazer rule clicks, people start using it everywhere: â Este presente Ă© para eu â â Este presente Ă© para mim. (This present is for me.) No verb after it, no eu.
Reaching for ti to sound correct. Ti is real, but it belongs to tu territory; elsewhere para ti lands like song lyrics. â Trouxe um cafĂ© para vocĂȘ. (I brought you a coffee.)
Writing de ele or em ela. These must fuse: â Eu gosto de ele â â Eu gosto dele. (I like him.) â Pensei em ela â â Pensei nela. (I thought about her.)
Using conosco in casual conversation. It is perfectly correct and slightly starched: â Vem com a gente! (Come with us!) is what people actually say. Save conosco for something you write.
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