Portuguese: próclise, ênclise, mesóclise — where to place the pronoun

Proclitic, enclitic, mesoclisis. Three impressive words for a very simple question: where to place object pronouns in Portuguese? Before, after, or in the middle of the verb. With a few triggers in mind, everything becomes predictable.

The three positions, clearly

First, the useful vocabulary. A clitic pronoun is a small unstressed pronoun (me, te, se, o, a, nos, vos, lhes…) that relies on a verb. In Portuguese, it can be placed in three positions:

• Proclitic (before the verb): "Ele me viu."
• Enclitic (after the verb, with a hyphen): "Ele viu-me." (common in Portugal)
• Mesoclisis (in the middle of the future/conditional verb): "Ver-te-ei" ("I will see you"). Formal style.

Triggers of proclitic (before the verb)

Here are the classic magnets that bring the pronoun before the verb, with an example each time:

• Negation: "Don't tell me." / "I never saw you."
• Relative pronouns and conjunctions: "The book that Igave me…", "If you tie me up, I will."
• Interrogatives: "Where did they find you?", "Why did they call me?"
• Some adverbs before the verb (already, still, always, also, only): "I alreadytold you.", "I stillremember.", "It has alwayshelped me.", "It alsotold me.", "I justlack this."

In the presence of these elements, even the future/conditional abandons mesoclisis: "I won’ttell you" (and not "I will tell you").

When enclisis is required (after the verb)

Without a trigger for proclisis, European Portuguese often places the pronoun after the finished verb, especially at the beginning of a sentence: "He told-methat yes." In Brazil, one would more readily say "Me says…" in everyday language, even though the written norm also accepts enclitic forms in certain contexts.

• Affirmative imperative: "Say-me the truth.", "Tell-me everything." (in Brazil, "Me say", "Me tell" is very common in spoken language)
• Infinitive or gerund without attractor: "Seeing-you tomorrow is better.", "By telling-me the truth, you resolve everything."

Useful spelling with enclitic forms for 3rd person pronouns (o, a, os, as):

• Verbs ending in -r, -s, -z lose the last letter and take -lo/-la/-los/-las: "love + o → to love", "to sell + a → to sell it".
• Verbs ending in -m, -ão, -õe take -no/-na/-nos/-nas: "put it on the table."

And what about mesoclisis?

Mesoclisis only exists with the simple future and the conditional, and only if there is no proclitic attractor. Formal examples: "I will -give you news.", "I would -say the same." In practice, in Brazil, it is often circumvented by a periphrastic construction: "I will call you." In Portugal, mesoclisis mainly survives in formal writing; orally, simpler options are preferred depending on the context.

Portugal vs Brazil: usage in two words

General trends observed by descriptive grammars: in European Portuguese, enclitic after a finished verb is common when nothing attracts the proclitic, especially at the beginning of a sentence ("He told me"). In Brazil, proclitic is very widespread in everyday language ("He told me"), with enclitic mainly in affirmative imperative and after infinitive/gerund. Mesoclisis remains a marker of formal style, more visible in Portugal and in careful writing in Brazil.

For a detailed overview and additional examples, see the article "Colocação pronominal"on Wikipedia in Portuguese and responses from grammarians onCiberdúvidas da Língua Portuguesa.

My experience

At first, I hesitated between "disse-me" and "me disse". I tried to memorize lists… then I noticed that spotting the trigger worked better: if I see "não", "que", "onde" or "já", I place the pronoun before. Otherwise, I choose based on the register and variety I aim for. When speaking with friends from Brazil, "me disse" comes out naturally; with videos from Portugal, "disse-me" becomes second nature. My brain likes triggers, not dogmas.

How to practice

Take 5 simple sentences and create three versions when possible: próclise, ênclise, mesóclise or periphrase. Basic example "dizer a verdade": "Nãome diga a verdade"; "Diga-me a verdade"; "Dir-me-ei a verdade" (formal) / "Voume dizer a verdade" (less idiomatic, prefer "Vou youtell the truth" according to the person). You can practice with fill-in-the-blank sentences in the module Sentences of Discus, then browse the language page for pronunciation and usage tips: Portuguese.

To go further

Linguistically, these pronouns are clitics that are prosodically attached to the host verb. The “próclise attractors” (negation, subordinators, interrogatives, focal adverbs) impose a syntactic domain where the clitic must precede the verbal core. The ênclise in European Portuguese reflects a rhythmic and stylistic preference for post-verbal support in the absence of governing elements, while the Brazilian variety has generalized próclise in everyday speech. The mesóclise is morphologically constrained to the synthetic tenses of the future and conditional; it becomes rarer in the face of aspectual-temporal periphrases ("ir + infinitive"). Note the alternations -lo/-la and -no/-na, inherited from the phonological adjustment of the final -r/-s/-z and nasal endings: "amá-lo", "vendê-la", "põem-no". Keeping these mechanisms in mind helps analyze less frequent forms encountered in the press or literature.