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Reflexivity with Tonic Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns tell you that an action is done to oneself (i.e. the object is the same as the subject). In English, we use words like myself, herself, and ourselves to express this idea. If you want to read more about Portuguese reflexive pronouns, we also cover them here. In order to make it easier to spot and understand the differences, we’ll be using the same examples throughout this Learning Note.
As you’ll see below, clitic pronouns (such as -me) are often used along with tonic pronouns (such as mim) to emphasize the object in reference: Desenhei-me a mim.I drew myself.
In some cases, it is also helpful to add the words próprioself or mesmosame to emphasize the reflexive nature of the verb even more and make the meaning less ambiguous: Ela desenhou-se a si própria.She drew herself.
…but this is optional if you’ve already used a clitic pronoun, as in this example: Desenhaste-te a ti (mesmo) .You drew yourself.
Explore the examples in each category below to help clarify these concepts:

  • The first example of each category shows you how to use clitic pronouns and tonic pronouns together. Using próprio or mesmo is usually optional here.
  • The second example shows how to add próprio or mesmo along with a tonic pronoun. Adding these words makes the reflexivity more obvious.
  • The third example shows how to combine the pronoun with the preposition comwith

Mim & Comigo

Desenhei-me a mim.I drew myself.
Fiz isto a mim próprio.I did this to myself.
Trouxe o cão comigo.I brought the dog with me.

Ti & Contigo

Desenhaste-te a ti (mesmo) .You drew yourself.
Fizeste isto a ti próprio.You did this to yourself.
Trouxeste o cão contigo.You brought the dog with you.

Ele(s) & Ela(s)

A Joana desenhou-se a ela (mesma) .Joana drew herself.
Ele ofereceu um presente a si mesmo.He offered himself a gift.
Trouxeram o cão com eles.They brought the dog with them.
or…
Eles trouxeram o cão consigo.They brought the dog with them.
Although all of these sentences are correct, the use of si is more common than ele(s)/ela(s), as it usually sounds better. In other words, Ele ri-se de si próprioHe laughs at himself is preferred to Ele ri-se dele próprioHe laughs at himself

Nós & Connosco

Desenhámo-nos a nós (próprios) .We drew ourselves.
Fizemos isto a nós próprios.We did this to ourselves.
Trouxemos o cão connosco.We brought the dog with us.

Vocês & Convosco

Desenharam-se a vocês (mesmos) .You drew yourselves.
Fizeram isto a vocês mesmos.You did this to yourselves.
Trouxeram o cão convosco.You brought the dog with you.

Comments

  • Is there a way of taking a short cut for some of these examples?
    For instance in English we often say “they brought the dog”….”with them” being implied. So does “eles trouxeram o cão” work in Portuguese.?

    • Yes, in general, you can cut out certain parts that are obvious in context. “Eles trouxeram o cão” would be absolutely fine, for example 🙂

  • Estas palavras são intercambiáveis quando se usam com qualquer pessoa? Por exemplo: mim mesmo / mim próprio, ti mesmo / ti próprio, etc.

  • It is not always a “connector” to “lessons” at the end of a “Learning note”? Right now it was about repeating about “clitics” but another day it will be something else. Theory vs pracise portugese. Best regards Hasse, sueco, living in Portugal with brasilians and portuguese.

      • Thanks Molly. It helped. English is not my native kanguage and grammar in school wwas more than 55 years ago. To me lots of examples and lessons help me understand the actual learning topic. Right now I fight to understand the practical use of the small words like –o/-a, -lhe, lha, lo, la, no, na etc., singular or plural, combined with verbs in a sentence (when to put it before the verb, in the middle, after and contractions). However I am not familiar with what gramatical terms to use in search on P&P and other sources on the net. Hence my question about linking the P&P learning notes to its lessons:)

  • I really appreciate how you structured this learning note, repeating the same 3 examples with each set of pronouns. I really was able to sit and think and compare and understand the concepts well with this layout, which was very clever, so thank you!

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