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Object Pronoun after Verb in Portuguese

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1e4e6
Octoglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
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1013 posts - 1588 votes 
Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian
Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan

 
 Message 1 of 3
18 August 2013 at 9:16am | IP Logged 
Is there a specific rule (or set of rules) where one cannot use the direct or indirect
(or both simultaneously) pronouns attached after the finite verb with a hyphen in
Portuguese? If I remember correctly, only after questions, certain adverbs such as
"ainda", etc. but some native speakers used to correct me, saying that using this pattern
sounded odd in some situations. Unfortunately, I never asked why in a more detailed
manner, so I still do not know why or where it might sound "odd".

For example, "chamo-me" I almost always would use instead
of "chamo me", "ele dá-lhe a ela a paella de mariscos e frango" for "he gives her the
chicken and seafood paella", and the combination "Explicai-lhes-lo" for "You (pl.)
explain it to them".

Edited by 1e4e6 on 18 August 2013 at 9:24am

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MarcoLeal
Groupie
Portugal
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58 posts - 104 votes 
Speaks: Portuguese*

 
 Message 2 of 3
18 August 2013 at 1:09pm | IP Logged 
Your usage of both chamo-me and dá-lhe is correct. Just keep in mind that chamo me (without hyphen) isn't correct.

As for the more complicated case of combining direct and indirect pronouns, there are two ways to go about this:

- Combining directly both pronouns, as shown in this table:

me      mo, ma      mos, mas
te      to, ta      tos, tas
lhe      lho, lha      lhos, lhas
nos      no-lo, no-la      no-los, no-las
vos      vo-lo, vo-la      vo-los, vo-las
lhes      lho, lha      lhos, lhas

So instead of Explicai-lhes-lo, the correct would be Explicai-lho. Notice, however, that this form is indistinguishable from the lhe+o form, which can lead to ambiguity.

- Rephrasing using isto/isso/aquilo, etc. instead of the direct pronouns. Example: Explicai-lhes isto/isso/aquilo, instead of Explicai-lho.

So when is each form preferred? In colloquial speech the second approach is used almost exclusively. The first is used mostly in formal speech and even there some forms, such as the ones for nos and vos, are rather uncommon, due to being considered stilted.

Edited by MarcoLeal on 18 August 2013 at 4:11pm

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Medulin
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Croatia
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 Message 3 of 3
18 August 2013 at 5:00pm | IP Logged 
In Brazilian speech (and increasingly so in writing), the general rule is

1. use the clitic pronoun before the main verb:
Eu me chamo, Não poderia se dizer, Sei que vou te amar
2. use the full pronoun-like expression after the main verb:
Ela chamou vocês, Não poderiam chamar a gente?, Sei que vou amar você, Irei convidar os senhores

o,a,os,as with infinitives are always enclitic ( they go after the main verb)
1. Para chamá-lo, prazer em vê-la

also with future subjunctive of regular verbs:
2. Se você procurá-los, se você segui-la
(this is extremely common in Brazilian legalese including texts of laws, press and literature,
and it's called ''ênclise eufônica'' in the grammar of Cegalla,

it's because usage like ''Prazer em a ver, se você a seguir'' is not euphonic in Brazilian Portuguese,
and therefore it sounds archaic at best, it'not used).

''Mas mantenho a promessa. Se não cumpri-la, pelo menos não pedi voto.''
João Ubaldo Ribeiro
http://www.academia.org.br/abl/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm? from_info_index=30&infoid=10731&sid=708

Edited by Medulin on 18 August 2013 at 5:11pm



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