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The Brazilian Portuguese Personal Subject Pronouns
Imagine introducing yourself to a friend you’ve just met
in school. He already knows your name because that’s the first thing you said
after “oi”. Now you’re about to tell him your age, that you are twenty or something.
You wouldn’t definitely “repeat” your name in your next sentence and the next
sentence after the next. That’ll sound silly and unnecessary!
Now, you’d use “eu” instead of your first name, or full
name, whichever information you gave. For example: Sou Miguel. Eu tenho 20 anos; instead of: Sou Miguel. Miguel tenho 20 anos.
These pronouns are usually omitted in speech. However, for the
purpose of this lesson they are shown.
“Eu” is just one of the several subject pronouns in the
Portuguese language. There are 9 other pronouns, and you’ll learn them as you
advance. You use “eu” to refer to yourself (the first person, the “talker”). Say, you are tall. You say: Eu sou alto.
If you address your new friend directly (he’s the second person, the one talked to),
you’d use “você” instead of his name. For example: Você tem quantos anos, não é?
When you talk about your new friend’s fat teacher, you
use “ele” if the teacher is male or “ela” if female. For example: Ela é gorda. The teacher is the third
person, the one talked about although not necessarily around during the conversation.
If you talk about your friend INCLUDING yourself, you use
“nós”. You say Nós somos amigos to tell him (or anyone else) that you two are
friends now. “Nós” is a first-person pronoun because you are still referring to
yourself (the talker) although now you have a companion (your friend). Since
there are the two of you, it’s a plural pronoun. You say “nós” is a
first-person plural pronoun.
On the other hand, “eu” is a first-person singular
pronoun. Singular because there’s only 1 person that is referred to, and that
is “yourself”.
Study the table below to know the different subject
pronouns in the Portuguese language.
SINGULAR
|
PLURAL
|
|
FIRST PERSON
|
eu
|
nós
|
SECOND PERSON
|
tu, você
|
vós, vocês
|
THIRD PERSON
|
ele, ela
|
eles, elas
|
Noticed the boldfaced pronouns in the SECOND PERSON row?
These forms are rarely used in the Brazilian variant of Portuguese; they are
more common in the European. So for now, just focus on the unhighlighted ones
in the table.
In Brazil, you will also hear “a gente” used instead of “nós”.
Both refers to the same person (first person, plural). “O senhor” and “a
senhora” used in place of “você” is considered more respectful. Say, you are
addressing a stranger, someone you met for the first time, a much older person than
you or a person in authority. For example, in a restaurant where respect is
very important, a waiter would say: O
senhor quer algo para comer? instead of Você
quer algo para comer?
One more thing is the gender of the plural pronouns “eles”
and “elas”. When talking about a couple composed of a man and a woman, you use
the masculine plural pronoun “eles”. You also use the same pronoun for a group
of students (a mix of male and female students). For example: Eles
estão na sala de aula. The class can have 11 boys and 12 girls, or 20 boys
and 2 girls, as long as it is a mix of boys and girls. However, you use “elas” and never “eles” to talk about all
your three sisters, for example.
Now, test your knowledge of the Portuguese subject pronouns by doing the exercise below.
EXERCISE: Suppose
you are the speaker of the following sentences. Fill in the blank with the
correct subject pronoun. Clues are in parentheses after the sentences.
1. _____ canta muito bem. (The subject here is Mariah Carey)
2. _____ somos brasileiros. (The subject here is you and your girlfriend)
3. _____ é baixo. (The
subject here is your friend who is a boy)
4. _____ sou jovem. (The
subject here is you yourself)
5. _____ não são muito velhos. (The subject here is both your parents)
6. _____ sempre me acordo às seis horas. (The subject here is you yourself)
7. _____ é muito inteligente. (The subject here is your professor who is a girl)
8. _____ está atrasado. (The
subject here is the mailman)
9. _____ estão tomando café. (The subject here is a certain Melissa and Tamara)
10. _____ está lendo. (The
subject here is the reader)
I hope you enjoy this lesson! Please don't forget to comment below for your answers or suggestions. They are really helpful. Thank you and happy holidays!!!
