Articles and contractions of prepositions

(Os artigos e contração da preposição)

 

Prepositions DE
Prepositions A
Prepositions EM
Prepositions POR

 

Prepositions (Preposições) are little words that connect one noun to another in a sentence or phrase. A single-word preposition is a basic preposition, for example: in, on, to, at, about, of, with or around. As in English, all the prepositions come before the noun in Portuguese.

 

Contraction |de| (of)

Preposition Definite article masculine Definite article feminine
– o os a as
de (of)
 do (of + the)
masculine		 dos (of + the)
masc. plural		 da (of + the)
feminine		 das (of + the)
fem. plural

 

Examples:

A casa do António. > Antonio’s house.
A chávena da Maria. > María’s tea cup.
O livro do Luis. > Luis’s book.
O pai da María. > María’s father.
A mãe do António. > Antonio’s mother.
As casas da Esmeralda. > Esmeralda’s houses.
Os barcos do Pedro. > Pedro’s boats.
Os carros das amigas da María. > The cars of Maria’s friends (feminine).

–

O gato da vizinha. > The (masculine) cat of the (feminine) neighbour.
O gato do vizinho. > The (masculine) cat of the (masculine) neighbour.
A gata da vizinha. > The (feminine) cat of the (feminine) neighbour.
A gata do vizinho. > The (feminine) cat of the (masculine) neighbour.

–

Os gatos dos vizinhos. > The cats (in general) of the neighbours (in general). *

* We are still a bit “macho” so when we speak in plural we generally use the masculine although the nouns can consist of masculine and feminine unless we are talking of all the feminine nouns in plural. Example: As gatas das vizinhas. As gatas dos vizinhos.

 

Contraction |a| (at, to)

Preposition Definite article masculine Definite article feminine
– o os a as
a (at, to)
 ao (to + the)
masculine		 aos (to + the)
masc. plural		 à (to + the)
feminine		 às (to + the)
fem. plural

 

Examples:

Eu vou ao restaurante comer um bife e beber cerveja. > I go to the restaurant to eat steak and drink beer.
Ela vai à praia com os amigos da Maria. > She goes to the beach.
Nós vamos ao aeroporto. > We go to the airport.
Eu estudo todas as tardes na casa do Luis. > I study all the afternoons in Luis’s house.
Aos domingos eu jogo ténis. > On Sundays I play tennis.

 

Contraction |em| (at, in, on)

Preposition Definite article masculine Definite article feminine
– o os a as
em (at, in, on)
 no (at + the)
masculine		 nos (at + the)
masc. plural		 na (at + the)
feminine		 nas (at + the)
fem. plural

 

Examples:

Eu estou em casa. > I’m at home.
Eu estou na casa da Maria. > I am at Maria’s house.
Ela está no barco do Luis. > He is at Luis’s boat.
Nós estamos nas casas do Manuel. > We are at Manuel’s houses.
Vocês estão nas montanhas da Serra Nevada. > They are in the mountains of Sierra Nevada.
Elas estão no bar do António. > They are in António´s bar.
Tu estás no supermercado. > You are in the supermarket.

 

Contraction |em| (in a)

Preposition Definite article masculine Definite article feminine
– um uns uma umas
em (in a, on a)
 num (in, on + a)
masculine		 nuns (in, on + some)
masc. plural		 numa (in, on + a)
feminine		 numas (in, on + some)
fem. plural

 

Examples:

Ele mora numa casa grande. > He lives in a big house.
Ela está num barco azul. > She is in a blue boat.
Nós estamos numas montanhas altas. > We are in some high mountains.
Eles estão nuns caminhos maravilhosos. > They are in some marvelous tracks.

 

Contraction |por| (through, by the)

Preposition Definite article masculine Definite article feminine
– o os a as
por (through, by the)
 pelo (por + o)
masculine		 pelos (por + os)
masc. plural		 pela (por + a)
feminine		 pelas (por + as)
fem. plural

 

Examples:

Eu vou por aqui. > I go trough here.
Tu vais por ali. > You go through there.
Ele vai pela ponte. > She goes by the bridge.
Ela vai pelo passeio do lado direito. > She goes through the right side walkway.

 

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