Lesson p072

72 CONYERSATIONAL PORTUGUESE

Notę: It is generally not considered the best fonn to begin a sentence or a clause with an object pronoun. The subject pronoun may precede, as above, or the object pronoun may folio w the verb and be attached to it with a hyphen: Disse-me. However, in Brazilian speech this has become quite common and must be considered an acceptable pattern.

8. He Gave It to Me

Ele me deu.

(Ele te deu)

Ele Ihe deu.

Ele nos deu.

(Ele vos deu.)

Ele Ihes deu.

He gave it to me.

(He gave it to you.) (familiar)

He gave it to you, him, her.

He gave it to us.

(He gave it to you.)

He gave it to you, them.

Notę: The direct object pronoun, if used with an indirect object pronoun, is contracted with it, forming such new forms as mo, to, lho, no-lo, vo-lo, and lho. These forms are somewhat awk-ward and are generally avoided, especially in conversation. Thus, the direct object pronoun may be omitted, as in the examples above, or the direct object pronoun may be used and the indirect object replaced by the prepositional form: Ele o deu a mim, etc.

9. Fm Speaking to You

Eu Ihe falo, or, Falo-lke. Fm speaking to you.

Ele Ihe fala, or,    He is speaking to you.

Fala-łhe.

10. Myself, Yourself

Eu me lato.

(Tu te łavas.)

Ele, ela, o senhor, voce se lava.

Nós nos lavamos. (Vós vos lavais.)

Eles se latam.

Elas se latam, etc.

I wash myself.

(You wash yourself.) (familiar)

He washes himself, she washes herself, you wash yourself.

We wash ourselves.

(You wash yourselves.)

They wash themselves.

They (fem.) wash themselves, etc.

Other Examples:

Como se chama o senhor?

Nós nos vemos no espelho.

Eles se escretem.

What is your name? (“What do you cali

yourself?”)

We see ourselves in the mirror.

They write to each other.

Notice the forms for “myself,” “yourself,” etc.: me, te, se, etc. Verbs which take these “reflexive pronouns” are called “reflexive” verbs. There are verbs which are reflexive in Portuguese but not in English as, for example:

Eu me ditirto.    I’m having a good time.

Elesesenta.    Hesitsdown.

Nós nos letantamos. We get up. We are

getting up.

Ela nao se sente bem.    She doesn’t feel well.