In our unit on clitic object pronouns in Portuguese, we discussed where to place clitics within a sentence. More specifically, we talked about whether the clitic goes before the verb, after the verb, or in the middle of the verb.
When auxiliary verbs get involved, there are now 2 verbs, so the rules get messy. You are probably thinking oh no… not more rules! 🤯 But don’t worry! In this case, they are actually more flexible compared to the rules we’ve discussed in the past. This means even if you forget, you have fewer chances of making a mistake. 😉
What’s a Verb Phrase?
An auxiliary verb combines with a main verb to form a locução verbal (verb phrase). The term “verb phrase” can mean something different in English, but in Portuguese it’s simply the use of an auxiliary verb + a main verb. The main verb will be in the infinitive, past participle, or gerund form.
For example, the part in bold here is a verb phrase: Tinham deixado aqui uma cadeiraThey had left a chair here as it is the combination of an auxiliary verb (tinham, from ter) and a main verb in the past participle (deixado, from deixar).
🤔 Where Do You Put the Clitic?
The placement of clitic object pronouns often depends on the form of the main verb (infinitive or gerund vs. past participle), the form of the auxiliary verb (future or conditional), and the presence of “magnetic words“.
Auxiliary + Infinitive/Gerund
If the verb phrase is formed by an auxiliary verb and a main verb in the infinitive or gerund, most of the time, it will sound more natural to put the clitic after the main verb.
Ele quer mostrar-me um desenhoHe wants to show me a drawing
Ele vai fazer-me uma massagemHe’s going to give me a massage
Nós quisemos surpreender-teWe wanted to surprise you
That said, it’s usually still correct after the auxiliary verb, too, so you have some flexibility:
Ele quer-me mostrar um desenhoHe wants to show me a drawing
Estás-te a queixar de quê?What are you(sing.,inf.) complaining about?
Eu gostei de te verI liked seeing you
Auxiliary + Past Participle
The only time you must put the clitic after the auxiliary verb, is when the main verb is in the past participle. This comes up often with compound tenses and passive voice.
Ela tem-me mostrado os desenhos delaShe has been showing me her drawings
O ficheiro foi-me enviadoThe file was sent to me
Eu tenho-lhe ligado todos os diasI’ve been calling him every day
Future/Conditional
When the auxiliary verb is in the future or conditional and the main verb is in the infinitive, the rule here is to place the pronoun after the main verb OR in the middle of the auxiliary verb. (The in-the-middle option sounds a bit more formal and is less common.)
Ele quererá mostrar-me um desenhoHe will want to show me a drawing
Ele querer-me-á mostrar um desenhoHe will want to show me a drawing
Poderia ajudar-me?Could you help me?
Poder-me-ia ajudar?Could you help me?
However, if the main verb is in the past participle, the clitic must be placed in the middle of the auxiliary verb. (This is because a clitic should never be attached to a participle.)
Nós manter‐te‐emos informado sobre a situaçãoWe'll keep you informed about the situation
Eu tê-lo-ei acabado quando vocês chegaremI'll have it finished by the time you arrive
Eu ficar-te-ia agradecido se me desses uma mãoI'd be grateful if you could give me a hand
Tu ter-me-ias ajudado?Would you have helped me?
🧲 What About ‘Magnetic’ Words?
Remember these? “Magnetic” is not an official term, but it gives us a simpler way to refer to the multiple categories of words that “pull” the clitic pronoun towards them. A few common examples are não, nada, quando, onde, como, quem, já, ainda, cada, se, todos, and certos.
When there’s a magnetic word, the clitic will usually appear before the entire verb phrase, overriding the previous rules we discussed. Take a look at these examples:
- Ele não te quer mostrar o desenhoHe doesn't want to show you the drawing
- Eu não te vou contar o que se passouI’m not going to tell you what happened
- Ela não me tem mostrado os desenhos delaShe hasn't been showing me her drawings
- Quem lhe terá dito isso?Who could’ve told him that?
- O aluno não lhes terá contado o que se passouThe student may not have told them what happened
- Ninguém me foi visitarNobody came to visit me
- Nunca nos poderiam ajudarThey would never be able to help us
However, it’s also technically correct to place the clitic after the main verb in the infinitive, as such:
- Ele não quer mostrar-te o desenhoHe doesn't want to show you the drawing
- Eu não vou contar-te o que se passouI’m not going to tell you what happened
- Quem é que vem buscar-nos?Who’s coming to pick us up?
⭐️ Summary
Overwhelmed? Here’s a simplified overview of the most common clitic placements, which will get you through most situations:
- main verb in the infinitive/gerund: after main verb
- auxiliary + past participle: after auxiliary verb
- future/conditional auxiliary + past participle: middle of auxiliary verb
- magnetic words: pulls clitic before entire verb phrase, overriding other rules
Comments
Good explanation, examples, and formatting made this interesting and useful!
Well explained and look forward to getting to level where I need to use it!
Do you have a lesson somehwere that demonstrates how to convert a single word from a verb to a noun…or an adverb…or an adjective…or a past participle…or a present participle/gerund…etc?
That coould be a BIG SHORT CUT in how to use one word in many different forms.
EXAMPLE: Cortar…Cortando…Cortado…Cortareira(?)….Cortamente(?)…Cortan(?)…etc.
No, we don’t have a lesson like that. But it’s a good idea! I’ll add it to our list. 😊
Thank you. Exercises on this point of grammar would be really helpful.
Why are both of these correct?
Ele não te quer mostrar o desenho – this given all the rules around placement of Object Pronouns I understand
Ele não quer mostrar-te o desenho – this I don’t
Both sentences are correct due to the flexibility of the clitic pronoun placement in European Portuguese. The pronoun can either precede the main verb (“Ele não te quer mostrar o desenho”) or follow and attach to the infinitive verb (“Ele não quer mostrar-te o desenho”). This second structure is possible because the negative word “não” allows the clitic pronoun to be placed after the infinitive, even within the same clause.
However, as we mention, the first sentence is the preferred and most correct form! The second one is only technically correct.
Thank you, Relógio.
But then why teach inversion? only so that we recognise what is happening or is that there instances where it has to happen and the second form “Ele não quer mostrar-te o desenho”, is not correct?
When going through grammar topics, we do our best to cover different patterns that people might see, while still pointing out what is more correct or preferable in each case, if applicable. As noted in this Learning Note, the placement of clitic pronouns before verb phrases is the preferred form in the presence of magnetic words. Placing them after the verb phrase, while not being a full-on error, is not the most grammatically sound option. In the absence of magnetic words, the other rules of placement described apply.
You gave the example ‘Tens de me ajudar com estas caixas’. If the ‘pronome pessoal complemento direto’ here was the third person (so ‘it’), would the ‘de’ of ‘ter de’ contract with the ‘o’ or ‘a’, or not? Here’s an example:
‘Eu fiz-te um bolo de aniversário. Tens de o comer.’
What I’m asking is, should it be ‘tens de o comer’ or ‘tens do comer’?
Olá! It should always be “Tens de o comer”, because the preposition ‘de’ does not contract with object pronouns. It contracts with definite articles, which just so happen to look the same as 3rd-person object pronouns (o, a, os, as) – we need to tell them apart by the grammatical context 🙂
Muito obrigada
I am always confused on the placement of clitics with verbal phrases like gostar de, ter de, precisar de. In you example above, clearly you have the clitic place before the main verb ‘ter’. But I have also heard the following: Gostaria de conhece-los? Would you like to meet them? Can you clarify?
Olá 🙂 In affirmative sentences, as per the rules discussed in this article, it’s acceptable to place the clitics after the auxiliary verb (and its preposition) or after the main verb. So, ‘Gostaria de os conhecer’ and ‘Gostaria de conhecê-los’ are both fine, as are ‘Tens de o comer’ and ‘Tens de comê-lo’. Just note that the main verb is the last one in the respective verb phrases. ‘Gostar’, ‘ter’, etc., have an auxiliary function in this context.
My problem is that my mind defaults to comparing with Spanish or French, and I get confused because Portuguese offers more options than either French or Spanish in placement of direct and indirect pronouns. Do you possibly have a chart of comparison at least with Spanish? I am trying to departmentalize, but it isn’t easy. ;-(
Unfortunately, we do not have comparison charts in Spanish. Our platform is mostly English -> Portuguese based, so there’s only a very limited content in other languages. When we have it translated – Shorties and Learning Notes – you’ll see it available at the top of the page.
If it helps, here’s what we have on Clitic Pronouns in French:
https://www.practiceportuguese.com/fr/learning-notes/les-pronoms-clitiques-nos-vos/
https://www.practiceportuguese.com/fr/learning-notes/les-pronoms-clitiques-me-te/
https://www.practiceportuguese.com/fr/learning-notes/les-pronoms-clitiques-complements-dobjet-direct-et-indirect/
🙂