When to Use -lo, -la, -no, and -na in European Portuguese

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The first time I tried to read a Portuguese novel, I realized on page one I was in too far over my head.

I remember seeing both fê-lo and dão-no and quickly decided, “Nope. I guess this ain’t happenin’.” I checked my little pocket dictionary I keep by the bed. I couldn’t find fê-lo OR dão-no. Not real words. I knew this language was imaginary!

To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure if these were even real words. You know how sometimes authors write out sounds that characters make? I thought it could’ve been one of those things.

I was wrong.

It turns out they are just regular verbs and pronouns that have undergone a bit of “phonetic surgery” to make them sound smoother, or more pleasing to the ear than what they actually mean.

Fez-o (did it) sounds weird when you say it out loud, so they drop the z, add an accent above the e (ê), and it becomes "fê-lo". It still means “did it”, the same as fez-o… it’s just the right way of saying it.

If you are just getting started with the basics of “it”, or even “him” and “her,” you might want to start with my breakdown on making sense of Portuguese pronouns.

But if you are ready to figure out why letters are disappearing and changing, let’s look at the mechanics of these weird pronouns.

They both mean literally the same thing. Just the right side is a little easier to say out loud.

The Problem of Weird Choppy Sounds

European Portuguese hates choppy sounds. It is obsessed with “mouth flow”.

Normally, if you want to say “I see it” referring to a masculine object like o filme, you would theoretically say vejo o. That flows fine. (Try it: form your lips and say it out loud slowly).

But what happens when the verb ends in a consonant like R, S, or Z? Or a nasal sound like M?

Try saying fez o really fast. It sounds clunky. It stops the rhythm. It comes out like “phase-oo”.

So, the language forces a rule change to make the words glide together. It cuts the harsh consonants and adds an “L” or an “N” to act as a bridge.

The Rule for Verbs Ending in R, S, or Z

This is the most common mutation you will see.

According to the grammar rules, whenever a direct object pronoun like o, a, os, or as comes after a verb ending in -r, -s, or -z, two things happen.

1. Drop the letter. The -r, -s, or -z disappears.
2. Add an L. The pronoun becomes -lo, -la, -los, or -las.

[!tip] Watch out for the accents

When we cut the letter -r, we often have to add an accent to the vowel left behind to keep the stress strong.

• -ar verbs get an acute accent (á). Example: lavar becomes lavá-la.
• -er verbs get a circumflex accent (ê). Example: fazer becomes fazê-la.
• -ir verbs usually get no accent. Example: pedir becomes pedi-lo.

(In the example we’ve been using so far, “fez” is just the 3rd person past tense conjugation of ‘fazer’ and translates to “He/She/It did”).

See the Mechanics in Action

Here is how the transformation looks step-by-step.

Verb Ending	Original Phrase	Transformation	Final Result
-R	vou trocar + a	Drop R, add L	vou trocá-la
-S	nós vemos + o	Drop S, add L	vemo-lo
-Z	ele fez + o	Drop Z, add L	fê-lo

Think of the L as the replacement part for the letters you threw away.

The Nasal Rule for M, ÃO, and ÕE Sounds

This group is easier to spot because you don’t have to cut any letters from the verb. You just stick an “n” onto the front of the pronoun.

If the verb form ends in a nasal sound—specifically -m, -ão, or -õe—the pronoun changes to -no, -na, -nos, or -nas.

The logic here is purely about sound. Trying to go from a nasal “M” sound directly to an open “O” vowel is awkward. The “N” bridges the gap.

How the Nasal Bridge Works

Verb Ending	Original Phrase	Transformation	Final Result
-M	eles fazem + as	Add N	fazem-nas
-ÃO	eles dão + o	Add N	dão-no
-ÕE	ela põe + os	Add N	põe-nos

[!warning] A Critical Exception: The Magnet Rule There is one major situation where you do not perform this surgery. In Portuguese, certain words act like “magnets” that pull the pronoun to the front of the verb.

If your sentence is negative (contains não, nunca, etc.) or starts with a question word (like como, que, ainda, or já), the magnet wins. You put the normal pronoun before the verb, and you don’t cut anything.

• Standard: Vou fazê-lo. (I’m going to do it.)
• Negative: Não o vou fazer. (I’m not going to do it.) -> No surgery needed!

This focus on flow is similar to how small connecting words change depending on the sentence, which I talk about in my guide to Portuguese prepositions.

Top Verbs That Use These Endings

You don’t need to memorize every verb in the dictionary. In my experience, 90% of the time, you will see this rule applied to a handful of high-frequency verbs.

Here are the ones you should recognize instantly.

Verb (Infinitive)	Normal Sentence	Transformation	Rule Applied
Fazer (To do/make)	Vou fazer a cama	Vou fazê-la	Drop R, add L
Ver (To see)	Nós vemos a Sara	Nós vemo-la	Drop S, add L
Trazer (To bring)	Ele traz a mala	Ele trá-la	Drop Z, add L
Dar (To give)	Eles dão o documento	Eles dão-no	Keep ÃO, add N
Pôr (To put)	Ela põe os livros	Ela põe-nos	Keep ÕE, add N

[!tip] The “Isso” Hack If your brain freezes in the middle of a conversation and you can’t remember if you need to drop an ‘R’ or add an ‘L’, people often use this “cheat code”, too.

Instead of using the specific pronoun (o/a), you can often just replace the object with isso (that).

• The “Textbook” Way: Vou comê-lo. (I’m going to eat it.)
• The “Lazy Local” Way: Vou comer isso. (I’m going to eat that.)

It’s not always elegant, but it will save you when you’re staring at a restaurant server and panicking.

You will hear these five verbs used this way constantly.

3 Practice Drills to Build Muscle Memory

The only way to stop staring at these words blankly is to build the mechanical habit. Here are three drills based on standard workbook exercises.

Drill 1: The R, S, Z Drop

Rewrite the sentence replacing the bold part with a pronoun.

Question	Answer
O João pôs a mesa na sala.	O João pô-la na sala.
Tu partes a louça.	Tu parte-la.
Ontem eu fiz os exercícios todos.	Ontem eu fi-los todos.

Drill 2: The Nasal Add-On

Rewrite the sentence replacing the bold part with a pronoun.

Question	Answer
Ela põe as canetas na mala.	Ela põe-nas na mala.
Eles dão os papéis ao Paulo.	Eles dão-nos ao Paulo.
Elas veem o filme.	Elas veem-no.

Drill 3: The Infinitive Challenge

These are common “to do” structures.

Question	Answer
Ele vai comprar as maçãs.	Ele vai comprá-las.
Ela está a lavar as mãos.	Ela está a lavá-las.
Ele vai fazer a cama.	Ele vai fazê-la.

Don’t worry if you forget the accent mark occasionally or mix up the -no and -lo at first. The goal right now is just to recognize the verb hiding inside the weird, alien word so you don’t get lost in a sentence.

Frequently Asked Questions

[!faq]- Do Brazilians use these forms? Generally, no. In Brazilian Portuguese, it is much more common to use the pronoun at the start of the verb phrase (e.g., Me dá) or use the object pronoun ele/ela as a direct object (e.g., Eu vi ele), which is grammatically incorrect in European Portuguese. If you want to sound Portugal Portuguese, you need to use the -lo and -no forms.

[!faq]- Is this formal or casual? It is standard. While you might hear some slangy speech drop the object pronoun entirely, using fê-lo or dão-no is not “fancy” or “aristocratic.” It is simply how the language is spoken and written correctly in Portugal. You will still hear it in shops, cafes, and on the news, etc.

[!faq]- Why does ‘tens’ not become ‘ten-lo’? This specific rule applies to direct object pronouns. The verb ter (to have) is transitive, but we don’t usually say “I have it” in the same way we say “I see it.” However, following the S-drop rule, if you did use it, tu tens + o would indeed follow the pattern. But focus on the high-frequency verbs listed above first.

[!faq]- How do I pronounce the accent marks like á and ê? The acute accent (á) opens the vowel sound, like the “a” in “father.” The circumflex accent (ê) closes the sound, making it deeper and more nasal, somewhat like the “a” in “about” or the “e” in “hey” without the glide. This distinction is important because it keeps the stress on that final syllable after the R is dropped.