One of the practice sentences reads: “Comecei-me a sentir cansada” (I began to feel tired). Could one also say “Comecei a sentir-me cansada”, and if not, why?
It seems like the same type of sentence as “Estás a sentir-te bem?” - which is apparently correct…
@hnturnbow, this is addressed in this Learning Note about the use of clitic pronouns with verb phrases: Clitic Pronouns in Verb Phrases | Practice Portuguese
Basically, when we have a verb phrase in an affirmative sentence, and with the main verb in the infinitive, it’s equally acceptable to place the clitic pronoun after the auxiliary verb or after the main verb. This means that both of these are correct, indeed:
Is it the same thing for these two phrases, from the Hospital & Pharmacy unit:
Já me sinto bem
Eu sinto-me melhor
Could they also be written:
Já sinto-me bem
Eu me sinto melhor
If not, what’s the difference?
@pauladwg, these are different, as none of the sentences have verb phrases, only single verb forms. In the first case, only “Já me sinto bem” is correct, because já is a ‘magnetic’ word here, bringing the clitic pronoun forward. In the second case, only “Eu sinto-me melhor” is correct, because there are no magnetic words and as such, the clitic pronoun should remain after the verb by default.