Colocação pronominal em locuções verbais
Colocação pronominal em locuções verbais means “where the clitic (me/te/se) goes with a two-verb complex (auxiliary + infinitive/gerund)”. When the sentence has a verb complex (an auxiliary like vou, quero, tenho que, estou + an infinitive or gerund), the clitic can sit in several places. Formation: aux + [me/te/se/nos] + infinitivo/gerúndio (BR falado): vou te ligar; quero te ver; está me esperando
where the clitic (me/te/se) goes with a two-verb complex (auxiliary + infinitive/gerund)
C1Formation
aux + [me/te/se/nos] + infinitivo/gerúndio (BR falado): vou te ligar; quero te ver; está me esperando
Explanation
When the sentence has a verb complex (an auxiliary like vou, quero, tenho que, estou + an infinitive or gerund), the clitic can sit in several places. The written norm allows three: proclisis to the auxiliary (Não te vou ligar), between the two verbs with a hyphen (Vou-te ligar), or enclisis to the infinitive (Vou ligar-te). In spoken Brazil, though, the overwhelming pattern is the clitic right before the main verb, with no hyphen: vou te ligar, quero te mostrar, posso te ajudar, está me esperando. Avoid the European enclitic vou dizer-te in casual Brazilian speech, where it sounds formal or Portuguese. In speech, me and te are strongly preferred over lhe/o. For a Spanish speaker the transfer is strong: te voy a llamar maps to vou te ligar, and voy a llamarte to vou ligar-te.
Examples
Note
Spoken BR default: clitic before the main verb, no hyphen (vou te falar, posso te ajudar). The enclitic vou falar-te sounds European. Prefer me/te over lhe/o in speech.
FAQ
Colocação pronominal em locuções verbais — what does it mean and how is it used?
where the clitic (me/te/se) goes with a two-verb complex (auxiliary + infinitive/gerund). When the sentence has a verb complex (an auxiliary like vou, quero, tenho que, estou + an infinitive or gerund), the clitic can sit in several places. The written norm allows three: proclisis to the auxiliary (Não te vou ligar), between the two verbs with a hyphen (Vou-te ligar), or enclisis to the infinitive (Vou ligar-te). In spoken Brazil, though, the overwhelming pattern is the clitic right before the main verb, with no hyphen: vou te ligar, quero te mostrar, posso te ajudar, está me esperando. Avoid the European enclitic vou dizer-te in casual Brazilian speech, where it sounds formal or Portuguese. In speech, me and te are strongly preferred over lhe/o. For a Spanish speaker the transfer is strong: te voy a llamar maps to vou te ligar, and voy a llamarte to vou ligar-te.
Colocação pronominal em locuções verbais — how do you form it?
aux + [me/te/se/nos] + infinitivo/gerúndio (BR falado): vou te ligar; quero te ver; está me esperando
Colocação pronominal em locuções verbais — any usage notes?
Spoken BR default: clitic before the main verb, no hyphen (vou te falar, posso te ajudar). The enclitic vou falar-te sounds European. Prefer me/te over lhe/o in speech.