Portuguese Clitic Pronouns: Próclise, Ênclise & Mesóclise
Portuguese possesses one of the richest and most sophisticated clitic pronoun placement systems in the entire Romance family. Depending on the surrounding syntactic words and verb tenses, object pronouns can stand before the verb (Próclise), attach after with a hyphen (Ênclise), or literally split the verb in half from the inside (Mesóclise)!
Triggered by magnetic attraction words (negatives, adverbs, conjunctions).
The default standard position in European Portuguese and sentence openers.
Used exclusively in Future & Conditional tenses when no attractor precedes.
1. Próclise: The Magnetic Attraction Words (Palavras Atrativas)
In standard normative Portuguese, pronouns strongly prefer to stand before the verb (Próclise) if preceded by any of these "magnetic" grammatical words:
| Attraction Category | Trigger Words | Mandatory Próclise Example |
|---|---|---|
| Negative Words | não, nunca, jamais, nada, ninguém | Nunca se esqueça de sonhar. |
| Subordinating Conjunctions | que, quando, se, porque, embora | Espero que você me ajude. |
| Adverbs (without comma) | já, sempre, talvez, aqui, hoje | Sempre te apoiarei. |
| Indefinite / Relative Pronouns | alguém, tudo, todos, quem, qual | Alguém me chamou? |
2. The Phenomenon of Mesóclise
Mesóclise is unique among modern Romance languages. When a verb is in the Futuro do Presente (falarei) or Futuro do Pretérito / Condicional (falaria), and there is NO attraction word before the verb:
You take the infinitive stem, insert the hyphenated clitic pronoun, and append the future ending:
• convidar + ei → convidar-te-ei (I will invite you)
• fazer + ia → far-se-ia (It would be done)
Important Note: If an attraction word appears, Próclise ALWAYS wins over Mesóclise: "Não te convidarei" (NOT *Não convidar-te-ei).
3. Brazilian Portuguese (BP) vs European Portuguese (EP)
In everyday Brazilian speech, próclise is universal: Brazilians casually say "Me dá um copo d'água" or "Te amo". In formal writing and throughout Portugal, however, a sentence can NEVER start with an oblique pronoun:
- *Me ajuda por favor. (Informal BP only; strictly incorrect in formal grammar)
- ✓ Ajuda-me, por favor. (Formal standard Portuguese)
- ✓ Amo-te. / Eu te amo. (With subject pronoun 'Eu', próclise becomes acceptable)
🧠 Interactive Portuguese Clitic Quiz
Identify whether Próclise, Ênclise, or Mesóclise applies according to formal grammatical rules.