Verbos pronominais: reflexivos, recíprocos e idiomáticos
Some Portuguese verbs come pre-attached to a pronoun (me, te, se, nos, vos, se) — and the meaning depends on it. Three families: (1) REFLEXIVE — the subject acts on itself: lavar-se (to wash oneself), levantar-se (to get up), vestir-se (to get dressed). (2) RECIPROCAL — two or more subjects act on each other: encontrar-se (to meet each other), abraçar-se (to hug each other), conhecer-se (to know / meet each other). (3) IDIOMATIC / INHERENTLY PRONOMINAL — the pronoun is just part of the verb, not really 'self': queixar-se de (to complain about), lembrar-se de (to remember), esquecer-se de (to forget), rir-se de (to laugh at), atrever-se a (to dare to), ir-se embora (to leave / go away). The pronoun OBEYS the placement rules from lesson 31 — ênclise by default, próclise after triggers.
Reflexive verbs — subject acts on itself
The pronoun matches the subject and means 'oneself'. Conjugation pairs: eu lavo-me, tu lavas-te, ele/ela lava-se, nós lavamo-nos (note: lavamos drops final -s before -nos), vocês/eles lavam-se. Common reflexives: lavar-se (to wash), levantar-se (to get up), deitar-se (to lie down / go to bed), sentar-se (to sit down), vestir-se (to get dressed), despir-se (to undress), chamar-se (to be named — literally 'to call oneself'), pentear-se (to comb one's hair), barbear-se (to shave). Many of these have non-reflexive transitive uses: lavar o carro (to wash the car) vs. lavar-se (to wash oneself); vestir o casaco (to put on the coat) vs. vestir-se (to get dressed). The reflexive can also signal a CHANGE OF STATE: zangar-se (to get angry), cansar-se (to get tired), divertir-se (to have fun), aborrecer-se (to get bored), assustar-se (to get scared), apaixonar-se por (to fall in love with).
Reciprocal verbs — each other
When two or more subjects act on each other, the plural reflexive pronoun (nos, vos, se) means 'each other'. Encontramo-nos no café = we meet (each other) at the cafe. Abraçaram-se = they hugged (each other). Conhecem-se há anos = they have known each other for years. Cumprimentaram-se = they greeted each other. To disambiguate from true reflexive (each on themselves), add um ao outro / uma à outra / uns aos outros: Cumprimentaram-se uns aos outros = they greeted one another. Or with mutuamente / reciprocamente: Ajudam-se mutuamente = they help each other. Common reciprocals: encontrar-se (to meet), conhecer-se (to know each other / meet for the first time), amar-se (to love each other), odiar-se (to hate each other), ver-se (to see each other), falar-se (to be on speaking terms), dar-se bem com (to get along with — slightly different shape: damo-nos bem com eles).
Idiomatic pronominal verbs — the pronoun is just there
Many Portuguese verbs require a pronoun without any reflexive logic. They're listed in dictionaries with the -se attached. The big ones (memorize them as units): lembrar-se de (to remember) — Lembras-te dele? = do you remember him? esquecer-se de (to forget) — Esqueci-me das chaves = I forgot the keys. queixar-se de (to complain about) — Queixou-se do barulho = he complained about the noise. rir-se de (to laugh at) — Riram-se de mim = they laughed at me. atrever-se a (to dare to) — Não me atrevi a perguntar = I didn't dare to ask. arrepender-se de (to regret) — Arrependo-me de ter ido = I regret having gone. referir-se a (to refer to) — Refiro-me ao livro = I'm referring to the book. dirigir-se a (to address / head toward) — Dirigiu-se ao público = he addressed the audience. ir-se embora (to leave / go away) — Vou-me embora = I'm leaving. tornar-se (to become) — Tornou-se médico = he became a doctor. Notice the prepositions: each verb fixes its own (de, a, com, por) — learn them as part of the lemma.
Pronoun placement — ênclise vs. próclise (recap from lesson 31)
The pronoun in pronominal verbs follows the SAME rules as any clitic pronoun. DEFAULT = ênclise (after the verb, with hyphen): Levanto-me às sete = I get up at seven. Lembro-me bem dele = I remember him well. PRÓCLISE (before the verb, no hyphen) is forced by triggers: NEGATION — Não me lembro = I don't remember. Nunca se queixou = he never complained. SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS — Disse que se ia embora = he said he was leaving. Se te lembrares, avisa = if you remember, let me know. RELATIVES — a pessoa que se queixou = the person who complained. INTERROGATIVES — Como te chamas? = what's your name? CERTAIN ADVERBS — Já me lavei = I already washed. Sempre se atrevia a falar = he always dared to speak. With a compound verb (ter + particípio, ir + infinitivo, estar a + infinitivo), the pronoun can climb to the auxiliary or stay attached to the main verb: Tenho-me lembrado ≈ Tenho lembrado-me (former preferred); Vou-me embora ≈ Vou embora (the se can drop in causal speech).
Reflexive vs. non-reflexive — meaning shifts
Many verbs change meaning depending on whether the pronoun is there. lembrar = to remind (someone of something) — Lembrei-o do prazo = I reminded him of the deadline. lembrar-se de = to remember — Lembrei-me do prazo = I remembered the deadline. esquecer = to forget (transitive) — Esqueci as chaves = I left the keys (somewhere). esquecer-se de = to forget — Esqueci-me das chaves = I forgot about the keys (mentally). chamar = to call — Chamei o táxi = I called the taxi. chamar-se = to be named — Chamo-me Pedro = my name is Pedro. rir = to laugh (intransitive) — Riu muito = he laughed a lot. rir-se de = to laugh AT (mocking) — Riu-se de mim = he laughed at me. ir = to go — Vou ao mercado = I'm going to the market. ir-se embora = to leave / go away — Vou-me embora = I'm leaving. The -se version is rarely interchangeable with the bare verb at B2.
BR notes and common pitfalls
PT and BR share the lemmas, but BR speech places the pronoun BEFORE the verb (eu me lembro) and often DROPS the pronoun when context is clear (eu lembro do prazo, eu esqueci as chaves). EP keeps both the pronoun AND the ênclise: eu lembro-me do prazo, eu esqueci-me das chaves — drop neither. Pitfall 1: forgetting the preposition. lembrar-se DE, esquecer-se DE, queixar-se DE, rir-se DE, atrever-se A, referir-se A. Wrong: lembrar alguém (PT) for 'to remember someone' — that's 'to remind'; you want lembrar-se de alguém. Pitfall 2: chamamo-nos with the dropped -s. Many learners write chamamos-nos; correct EP is chamamo-nos (the -s of the verb drops before -nos). Same with all 1st-pl reflexives: encontramo-nos, levantamo-nos, sentamo-nos. Pitfall 3: with ir-se embora, the se is often heard but in fast EP speech can drop: vou embora is acceptable; vou-me embora is the textbook form.
