Próclise brasileira: pronome antes do verbo
Próclise brasileira: pronome antes do verbo means “Placing the object pronoun before the verb (proclisis), the Brazilian default”. In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, the unstressed object pronoun (me, te, se, nos, o/a, lhe) almost always comes BEFORE the verb — even at the very start of a sentence: 'Me empresta a caneta. Formation: (Me / Te / Se / Nos / O / A / Lhe) + verbo — mesmo em início de frase
Placing the object pronoun before the verb (proclisis), the Brazilian default
B1Formation
(Me / Te / Se / Nos / O / A / Lhe) + verbo — mesmo em início de frase
Explanation
In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, the unstressed object pronoun (me, te, se, nos, o/a, lhe) almost always comes BEFORE the verb — even at the very start of a sentence: 'Me empresta a caneta?' (Lend me the pen?), 'Te amo' (I love you), 'Se chama João' (His name is João). This breaks the European Portuguese / textbook rule, which forbids opening a clause with the pronoun and requires enclisis ('Empresta-me', 'Chamo-me'). Ironically, Brazil is the more conservative side here: sentence-initial proclisis was already normal in older Portuguese. In Brazil, enclisis survives mainly in formal writing. Spanish speakers find this easy, since Spanish is also proclitic with finite verbs ('me lo dijo').
Examples
Note
In speech and casual writing, always use proclisis, even to open a sentence ('Me liga!' = Call me!). Enclisis ('Liga-me!') sounds formal or European. Don't confuse the pronoun 'se' with the conjunction 'se' (=if).
FAQ
Próclise brasileira: pronome antes do verbo — what does it mean and how is it used?
Placing the object pronoun before the verb (proclisis), the Brazilian default. In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, the unstressed object pronoun (me, te, se, nos, o/a, lhe) almost always comes BEFORE the verb — even at the very start of a sentence: 'Me empresta a caneta?' (Lend me the pen?), 'Te amo' (I love you), 'Se chama João' (His name is João). This breaks the European Portuguese / textbook rule, which forbids opening a clause with the pronoun and requires enclisis ('Empresta-me', 'Chamo-me'). Ironically, Brazil is the more conservative side here: sentence-initial proclisis was already normal in older Portuguese. In Brazil, enclisis survives mainly in formal writing. Spanish speakers find this easy, since Spanish is also proclitic with finite verbs ('me lo dijo').
Próclise brasileira: pronome antes do verbo — how do you form it?
(Me / Te / Se / Nos / O / A / Lhe) + verbo — mesmo em início de frase
Próclise brasileira: pronome antes do verbo — any usage notes?
In speech and casual writing, always use proclisis, even to open a sentence ('Me liga!' = Call me!). Enclisis ('Liga-me!') sounds formal or European. Don't confuse the pronoun 'se' with the conjunction 'se' (=if).