Reflexive pronouns and pronominal verbs

In brief

In Brazilian Portuguese, a reflexive pronoun shows that an action involves the subject themself: Eu me machuquei means ‘I hurt myself.’ Some everyday verbs, such as lembrar-se de (remember) and sentir-se (feel), also use these pronouns even when the English translation has no ‘myself’ or ‘yourself.’

Form

Use me with eu, te with tu, se with você/ele/ela, nos with nós, and se with vocês/eles/elas. In everyday Brazilian speech, the pronoun usually comes before the conjugated verb: Eu me lembro; você se lembra.

Usage

• Use the pronoun that matches the person doing the action: eu me preparo, você se prepara, nós nos preparamos.
• Learn pronominal verbs together with their prepositions: lembrar-se de algo means to remember something.
• Do not translate the pronoun mechanically into English; Ela se sente bem means ‘She feels well.’

Examples

• Eu me levanto cedo durante a semana. — I get up early during the week.
• Você se lembra do endereço? — Do you remember the address?
• Nós nos preparamos para a viagem. — We get ready for the trip.
• Ela se machucou jogando futebol. — She hurt herself playing soccer.

Common mistake

❌ Eu se levanto cedo.

✅ Eu me levanto cedo.

With eu, use me, not se. The reflexive pronoun must match the subject.

Remember

The English translation may omit a reflexive word even when Portuguese uses one.