Pronouns in Portuguese: pronunciation and usage examples

The pronouns in Portuguese (and in other languages) are variable words and that generally accompany the nouns. They are used to:

Indicate people who have participated in a debate or speech
Express treatments and social forms
Perform complex sentences

The usefulness of pronouns is that allow to give coherence and meaning to texts, in such a way that they can indicate order, context and in general help us to understand the message they want to share with us.

How to write pronouns in Portuguese

Singular

Persona	Pronoun (Portuguese)	Spanish translation)
Home	Meu, minha, meus, minhas	My, mine, mine, mine
Away	Teu, you, you, you	You, you, your, your
Third	Seu, sua, seus, suas	His, his, his, his

Plural

Persona	Pronoun (Portuguese)	Spanish translation)
Home	Nosso, nossa, nossos, nosas	Our, our, our, our
Away	Vosso, vossa, vosso, vosso	You, yours, yours, yours
Third	Seu, sua, seus, suas	His, his, his, his

Examples of use

Some examples of how pronouns are used in Portuguese are the following:

This house is mine. That house is minha
The shirts are mine. As shirts são minhas
Your houses are elegant. Vossas são elegant houses
Its capabilities are truly impressive. Its capabilities are really impressive

Here is an image that you can download to your phone to help you learn:

Indefinite pronouns

In the Portuguese language the so-called indefinite pronouns are also used that indicate people, things or subjects that are not specified, for example:

Some, some, some, some: Some, some, some some
Someone: someone
Something something
Certain, certain, certain, certain: certain, certain, certain, certain
Nenhum, nenhuma: none, none
How much, how much, how many, how many: How much, how much, how many, how many
So much, so many, so many: So much, so much, so many, so many
Several, several: several and several
Muito, muita, muitos, muitas: Much, much, many, many
Pouco, pouca, poucos, poucas: Little, little, few, few
Outro, outra, outros, outras: Other, another, others, others
Qualquer: any
All, All, All, All: All, All, All, All
Tudo: all
Nothing nothing
Every: every

Examples of use of indefinite pronouns

One day I'll be happy: Someday I will be happy
Something is going on here: Something is happening here
It is true that she is beautiful : It is true that she is cute
No person has come to visit me: No one saw me visit
So much that i love her: So much that I want
There are several truths that I have to say: There are several truths that I have to tell
Anyone can live in the flat: Anybody can live, not long
I have nothing left of what I have done: Nothing that remains for me

Interrogative pronouns

Portuguese interrogative pronouns are used to ask specific questions, either direct or indirect.

As? As?
Than? What?
Where? Where?
Quem? Who?
How many? How many?
What? Which?
When? When?
Because? Why?
Where? Where to?
Where from? From where?

Examples

How can I be happy in life?: How can I be happy in life?
What are you doing to stand out?: Or what are you doing to stand out?
Where you are right now?: Where are you at this moment?
What is the formula for success?: What is the formula for the event?

Challenge pronouns

The challenge pronouns have the functionality of appearing the subjects in the sentence. They are used to qualify the subjects in terms of their quantity, either in singular or plural.

Singular

eu: me
you you
ele, ela: he or she

Plural

we: us
you: you
eles, elas: they and they

Examples of challenge pronouns

I am a professional person: I am a professional person
You are a kind person: You are a gentle person
She is a distinguished doctor: She is a different doctor
We study at a prominent university: We study at a prominent university
They are coming tonight: Eles virão this night

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are those used in Portuguese grammar to know the location of a being always in relation to the person that is spoken in a sentence. It is worth mentioning that there is no demonstrative adjective in Portuguese.

Singular

Male East- (this) Esse - (that) That- (that)

Feminino Esta- (this) Essa - (that) That- (that)

Plural

Male Estes- (these) Esses- (those) Those- (those)

Feminino These- (these) Essas- (those) Those- (those)

Examples of demonstrative pronouns

This table has no support to sit on: This table has no support to sit
Those years went by so fast: Those years passed very fast

Relative pronouns in Portuguese are classified as variable and invariable and are as follows:

Variables

or what are you: which, which
cujo cujos: whose whose
a qual as quais: which which which
how many how many: how much how many
cujo cujos cuja cujas: whose whose whose and whose

Invariable

that: which
quem: who
where: where

Examples of use

How long will it take: How long will it take
The newspaper is successful, which presents prestigious news: O jornal é bem happened, which presents news of prestige

This has been all for today, we hope that our guide on Portuguese pronouns has been useful to you and remember to check the rest of the page to continue learning languages in an easy and completely free way. To finish, we leave you with a video that will help you in the pronunciation of pronouns in Portuguese: