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.
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.
Sim, são 🙂
Simples! Obrigada.
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.
Right, Learning Notes do not always connect to Lessons. This Learning Note is part of this Unit: https://www.practiceportuguese.com/units/main/tonic-pronouns/, so if you are doing that Unit, it should show the Continue button to the next lesson. But if you just linked to that Learning Note from somewhere else, it will not show the Continue button.
Let me know if I’m misunderstanding the question!
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 understand! Even for native speakers, grammar terms can be very confusing. You can search for terms like: clitic pronouns, reflexive verbs, reflexive pronouns, direct and indirect objects
I agree that examples are always best. Here’s another unit about those small words: https://www.practiceportuguese.com/units/main/clitic-pronouns/ You can repeat the lessons to practice learning within a sentence. And here are a few Shorties that feature them: https://www.practiceportuguese.com/posts-all/?post_types=shorties&_sft_post_tag=clitics
Wow! Bullseye! Eureka! That is exatly what I have been looking for! Thanks for your guidance.
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!
I’m just so confused about the order in which things need to be placed within a sentence.
For example:
O médico receitou-lhe a si este remédio?
vs
Eu pedi-lhe o papel a si
Can you say: Eu pedi-lhe a si o papel?
Or: O médico receitou-lhe este remédio a si?
Thanks for any help!
Olá! Portuguese is rather flexible with the placement of different elements in a sentence. All examples you’ve shared are equally correct 🙂
Thank you for your quick reply, Joseph!
And what a relief! 🙂
Why is it “Esta frase foi dita por si” and not “Esta frase foi dito por si”? I thought dito was the past participle of dizer.
You’re right that ‘dito’ is the past participle of dizer. If you were forming a compound tense (with the auxiliary verbs ter or haver), you would be required to use it in that form. In this case, you don’t have a compound tense, but a passive voice structure (auxiliary verb ser), where the past participle works more like an adjective. Because of that, it needs to agree with the reference term, which is ‘frase’ (a feminine noun).
Obrigado!
Could you please clarify, the tonic pronoun after the clitic pronoun is only necessary if it’s the same person in the sentence? For example:
Tu desenhaste-te a ti. – The tonic pronoun is needed because if said only Tu desenhaste-te it’s not clear who you drew.
Tu desenhaste-me. – The tonic pronoun is not needed because it’s clear the you drew me.
Tu desenhaste-me a ti. – Still possible to say as it would just emphasise that you drew me by yourself.
Also, how would you say She drew herself by herself?
Is this correct or am I entirely confused?
Olá! The tonic pronoun is rarely necessary after a clitic pronoun of the same grammatical person – it’s mostly an optional, but idiomatic addition for extra emphasis/clarity. The clitic pronoun mostly affects whether adding “mesmo” or “próprio” is also necessary after the tonic pronoun. What the article tries to explain is that when you already have a reflexive clitic pronoun, it’s fine not to include “mesmo” or “próprio” with the tonic pronoun. But when a clitic pronoun is absent, the tonic pronoun should include “mesmo” or “próprio” when used reflexively.
With the above in mind, let me go through your examples.
– Tu desenhaste-te a ti. -> This sentence is fine as is, but it’s also enough to just say “Tu desenhaste-te” (you drew yourself). The clitic pronoun here already completes the sentence per se – the tonic pronoun is an optional extra.
– Tu desenhaste-me. -> This sentence is fine as is, and it would also be fine to add a tonic pronoun for emphasis and say “Tu desenhaste-me a mim”. The tonic pronoun is an optional extra.
– Tu desenhaste-me a ti. -> This sentence is incoherent, because the meaning of the verb ‘desenhar’ doesn’t allow for a clitic pronoun and tonic pronoun with different grammatical persons. This might happen with other verbs, though. For example, “Ele levou-me a ti” (He took me to you) is a sentence where it is logical to have ‘mismatched’ clitic and tonic pronouns because there are multiple parties in interaction.
“She drew herself by herself” could be said as simply as “Ela desenhou-se sozinha”, or optionally, “Ela desenhou-se a si [mesma] sozinha”.
Hope this helps!
Are mesmo/próprio always interchangeable? Or are there phrases where you would rather use one of them? 🙂
In this kind of use, to emphasize reflexivity, you can consider them interchangeable 🙂