PARA MIM versus PARA EU

By James Hall / / (2) Beginning Portuguese
para mim vs para eu in Portuguese

My mom still gets mad when I get "I" and "me" mixed up. It's the one thing she can still correct me on consistently 😓. Te same thing started happening with Portuguese. Not that my mom knows a word of Portuguese, but I was never sure wether to say para mim or, para eu. And what about using me rather that mim? Is it para mim ou para me?

Me talk pretty one day.

The correct explanation involves the subject and the object of the action in the sentence. But hey: let's avoid the grammar talk and just talk about the way to use it until we all get the hang of it.

When is PARA MIM needed in Portuguese

Only when you've got the para mim (for me) at the end of the sentence. Like this:

  • ➜ Thiago fez esse bolo para mim.
  • ➜ Comprei esse carro para mim.
  • ➜ Você pode ler o livro para mim?

When is PARA EU needed in Portuguese

Now let's turn these around so that there's a verb afterwards:

  • ➜ Thiago fez esse bolo para eu comer.
  • ➜ Comprei esse carro para eu dirigir.
  • ➜ Você pode ler o livro para eu entender?
✻ Use PARA MIM if at the end of the sentence OR there's no verb afterward.

Can you use ME rather than MIM?

Sure! BUT you have to lose the "para" too. Like this:

Quem está me chamando?

Let's try to use ME in our 3 examples rather than MIM:

  • ➜ Thiago me fez esse bolo.
  • ➜ Eu me comprei esse carro hoje. SOUNDS WEIRD BECAUSE COMPRAR ISN'T BEING USED REFLEXIVELY. (Try it with LEVANTAR!)
  • ➜ Você pode me ler o livro?

Tudo é possível 👧🏻 👧🏼 👧🏿.

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