First-Person Pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese

In Portuguese, first-person pronouns change depending on their function in the sentence: whether they are the subject, the object, or come after a preposition.

1. Singular: I / Me

• Subject (eu): Used when you are doing the action.
  Eu falo português. (I speak Portuguese.)
• Object (me): Unstressed form used as a direct or indirect object.
  A Júlia me beijou. (Julia kissed me.)
• After Prepositions (mim): Used after prepositions like para, de, or por.
  Ele fez isso por mim. (He did that for me.)

2. Plural: We / Us (Standard)

• Subject and Post-prepositional (nós): This form carries a written stress accent and is used both as the subject and after prepositions.
  Nós falamos português. (We speak Portuguese.)
  Ele fez isso por nós. (He did that for us.)
• Object (nos): Unstressed form used as a direct or indirect object.
  O professor nos ensinou umas palavras novas. (The teacher taught us some new words.)

3. The Everyday "We": A gente

In everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese, it is extremely common to use the expression a gente instead of nós. Literally meaning "the people", it translates to "we" or "us".

• Verb Agreement: Because a gente is grammatically a singular noun phrase, it requires a third-person singular verb.
  A gente mora na próxima rua. (We live on the next street.)
• Object and Prepositional Use: It can act as an object or follow prepositions without changing its form.
  O Paulo vai encontrar a gente aqui. (Paulo is going to meet us here.)
  Quer ir com a gente? (Do you want to go with us?)
• Adjective Agreement: Adjectives describing a gente default to the masculine singular.
  A gente está cansado. (We are tired.)
  However, if the group consists exclusively of women, the feminine singular form is used.
  A gente está cansada. (We are tired [all-female group].)