Personal pronouns represent the people in discourse and substitute nouns already known in the statement. In Portuguese, they vary according to their function in the sentence, and can mark the subject, direct object, indirect object, reflexivity, and form of address. Correct use also depends on verbal agreement, the preposition that accompanies them, and their placement relative to the verb, a topic related to Pronouns and to the groups of Oblique Pronouns, Reflexive Pronouns and Forms of Address.

The nominative pronouns function as the subject and normally agree with the verb. The first-, second-, and third-person forms are used to indicate who speaks, with whom one speaks, and of whom one speaks. In many varieties, the pronoun tu alternates with you, and you require the verb in the third person.

FormaForm.	UsoUse.	ExemploExample.
euI.	1ª pessoa do singular sujeitoFirst-person singular subject.	Eu falo com calma.I speak slowly.
tuYou (singular informal).	2ª pessoa do singular sujeitoSecond-person singular subject.	Tu vens cedo.You come early.
ele ou elahe or she.	3ª pessoa do singular sujeitoThird-person singular subject.	Ela trabalha hoje.She works today.
nósWe.	1ª pessoa do plural sujeitoFirst-person plural subject.	Nós estudamos juntos.We study together.
vósYou (plural, archaic).	2ª pessoa do plural sujeitoSecond-person plural subject.	Vós sabeis a resposta.You (plural/archaic) know the answer.
eles ou elasthem or they.	3ª pessoa do plural sujeitoThird-person plural subject.	Eles chegam amanhã.They arrive tomorrow.

The unstressed oblique pronouns serve chiefly as direct objects and attach to the verb without a preposition. They vary in form and agree with gender and number in the third person. This group is central to [Oblique Pronouns] and shows the reduced form of the object in the sentence.

FormaForm.	UsoUse.	ExemploExample.
meMe.	complemento direto da primeira pessoaDirect object of the first person.	Ele viu me ontem.He saw me yesterday.
teYou.	complemento direto da segunda pessoaDirect object of the second person.	Eu conheço te bem.I know you well.
o ou athe masculine or the feminine.	complemento direto da terceira pessoaDirect object of the third person.	Maria chamou a.Maria called her.
nosUs.	complemento direto da primeira pessoa do pluralDirect object of the first-person plural.	O chefe encontrou nos cedo.The boss found us early.
vosYou (plural, archaic, object).	complemento direto da segunda pessoa do pluralDirect object of the second-person plural.	Eu ouvi vos no corredor.I heard you in the corridor.
os ou asthe masculine or the feminine.	complemento direto da terceira pessoa do pluralDirect object of the third-person plural.	Nós vemos os na praça.We see them in the square.

Tonic oblique pronouns appear after a preposition and function as prepositional complements. Thus they appear in structures such as para mim, com ti, and de nós. When the preposition combines with the pronoun, special forms such as comigo, contigo, consigo, conosco and convosco appear.

FormaForm.	UsoUse.	ExemploExample.
mimMe.	após preposiçãoafter preposition.	Isto é para mim.This is for me.
tiYou (prepositional).	após preposiçãoafter preposition.	Vou contigo.I'll go with you.
ele ou elahe or she.	após preposiçãoafter preposition.	Falei com ela.I spoke with her.
nósWe.	após preposiçãoafter preposition.	A viagem é para nós.The trip is for us.
vósYou (plural, archaic).	após preposiçãoafter preposition.	Trouxe isto para vós.I brought this for you all.
eles ou elasthem or they.	após preposiçãoafter preposition.	Saí com eles.I left with them.
comigoWith me.	preposição combinada com euPreposition combined with me.	Ele veio comigo.He came with me.
contigoWith you.	preposição combinada com tuPreposition combined with you.	Fica contigo.Stay with you.
consigoWith you.	preposição combinada com ele ou elaPreposition combined with him or her.	Ela levou o caderno consigo.She took the notebook with her.
conoscoWith us.	preposição combinada com nósPreposition combined with us.	Viajou conosco.She traveled with us.
convoscowith you.	preposição combinada com vósPreposition combined with you (plural/archaic).	Ficou convosco.Stayed with you.

The pronoun lhe and the plural lhes normally indicate indirect object and substitute complements introduced by a preposition required by the verb. They are frequent with verbs such as dar, oferecer, dizer and responder. The use of lhe does not mark gender; the reference appears in the context of the sentence.

FormaForm.	UsoUse.	ExemploExample.
lheHim/her.	objeto indireto singularIndirect object singular.	Eu lhe dei um livro.I gave him/her a book.
lhesThem.	objeto indireto pluralIndirect object plural.	Nós lhes escrevemos ontem.We wrote to them yesterday.
lheHim/her.	destinatário de verbo de dizerRecipient of the verb to say.	Ele lhe contou a verdade.He told him the truth.
lhesThem.	destinatário de verbo de oferecerRecipient of the verb to offer.	A professora lhes explicou a lição.The teacher explained the lesson to them.

Reflexive pronouns indicate that the action falls on the subject itself. The form appears in the third person and, in constructions with preposition, tonic forms such as para si are used. This usage is directly linked to [Reflexive Pronouns].

FormaForm.	UsoUse.	ExemploExample.
meMe.	reflexivo da primeira pessoaReflexive pronoun of the first person.	Eu me cortei.I cut myself.
teYou.	reflexivo da segunda pessoaReflexive pronoun of the second person.	Tu te lembraste cedo.You remembered yourself early.
seOneself.	reflexivo da terceira pessoaReflexive pronoun of the third person.	Ele se feriu.He hurt himself.
nosUs.	reflexivo da primeira pessoa do pluralReflexive pronoun of the first person plural.	Nós nos encontramos.We met.
vosYou (plural, archaic, object).	reflexivo da segunda pessoa do pluralReflexive pronoun of the second person plural.	Vós vos enganastes.You (plural/archaic) deceived yourselves.
seOneself.	reflexivo da terceira pessoa do pluralReflexive pronoun of the third person plural.	Eles se prepararam.They prepared themselves.
para siFor yourself.	reflexivo após preposiçãoReflexive after preposition.	Guardou o segredo para si.He kept the secret to himself.

Forms of address vary according to region and level of formality. Você is very frequent in Brazilian Portuguese and governs the verb in the third person, while tu is common in several areas of European Portuguese and in parts of Brazil, with agreement that can vary locally. Vocês retain the plural and also require a verb in the third person, which brings it closer to the structure of formal and everyday address.

RegiãoRegion.	FormaForm.	Definição RegionalRegional Definition.	ExemploExample.
BrasilBrazil.	vocêYou.	Usa concordância de terceira pessoa e é comum na fala cotidiana.It uses third-person agreement and is common in everyday speech.	Você veio cedo.You arrived early.
PortugalPortugal.	tuYou (singular informal).	Usa concordância de segunda pessoa e é frequente na norma familiar.It uses second-person agreement and is common in the familiar register.	Tu falas bem.You speak well.
PluralPlural.	vocêsYou (plural).	Marca mais de um interlocutor e exige terceira pessoa verbal.It marks more than one interlocutor and requires a verb in the third person.	Vocês chegaram juntos.You all arrived together.
BrasilBrazil.	tuYou (singular informal).	Em algumas regiões, pode aparecer com concordância de terceira pessoa.In some regions, it may appear with third-person agreement.	Tu vai comigo.You go with me.

The position of unstressed pronouns relative to the verb can be proclisis, enclisis, or mesoclisis. Proclisis occurs before the verb, enclisis after the verb, and mesoclisis inside the future tense form. In informal speech, proclisis is very frequent, even where the written standard favors enclisis, and European Portuguese preserves normative positions more strongly.

RegraRule.	ExemploExample.
próclise ocorre com palavra atrativa antes do verboProclisis occurs with an attracting word before the verb.	Não me viu.Did not see me.
ênclise aparece com o pronome depois do verboEnclisis appears with the pronoun after the verb.	Viu me ontem.Saw me yesterday.
mesóclise surge no futuro do presente ou do pretéritoMesoclisis occurs in the future of the present or the past.	Vê lo ei amanhã.I will see him tomorrow.
a fala informal favorece a próclise em muitos contextosInformal speech favors proclisis in many contexts.	Me disseram a notícia.They told me the news.
o português europeu preserva mais a colocação normativaEuropean Portuguese preserves normative placement more strongly.	Dir se ia a casa.One would go home.

Portuguese frequently allows ellipsis of the subject, that is, an unexpressed subject when the verbal person already identifies it. Therefore, the sentence can begin directly with the verb without loss of clarity. This characteristic helps explain why the nominative case is often implicit in speech and in writing.

RegraRule.	ExemploExample.
o sujeito pode ficar omitido quando a desinência verbal o identificaThe subject may be omitted when the verbal ending identifies it.	Cheguei cedo.I arrived early.
o verbo pode indicar quem pratica a ação sem pronome explícitoThe verb can indicate who performs the action without an explicit pronoun.	Fomos ao mercado.We went to the market.
a omissão é muito comum no português faladoOmission is very common in spoken Portuguese.	Disse a verdade.He told the truth.

The agreement of personal pronouns appears in the opposition between singular and plural and, in the third person, between masculine and feminine. This marking is observed in the nominative pronouns, in the third-person oblique pronouns, and in the forms of address that require a corresponding verb. The relationship between form and function is decisive to avoid ambiguities and to recognize the grammatical person in Demonstrative Pronouns, Possessive Pronouns, Relative Pronouns and Interrogative Pronouns.

FormaForm.	NúmeroNumber.	GêneroGender.	ExemploExample.
eleHim.	singularSingular.	masculinoMasculine.	Ele chegou.He arrived.
elaHer.	singularSingular.	femininoFeminine.	Ela chegou.She arrived.
osThem (masculine).	pluralPlural.	masculinoMasculine.	Eu vi os.I saw them.
asThem (feminine).	pluralPlural.	femininoFeminine.	Nós chamamos as.We call them.
lhesThem.	pluralPlural.	sem gêneroGender-neutral.	Eu falei lhes.I spoke to them.

Personal pronouns organize reference to the people in discourse and change form according to syntactic function, the preposition, reflexivity, and form of address. The nominative case marks the subject, the unstressed and stressed oblique forms distribute complements; lhe and lhes express indirect object; se and tonic forms indicate reflexivity, and pronominal placement determines the position with respect to the verb. In real use, the choice between tu, você and vocês, as well as the omission of the subject and the combinations with prepositions, depends on the linguistic variety and the level of formality.