Mastering Brazilian Portuguese Prepositional Contractions

In Brazilian Portuguese, prepositional contractions, or contrações prepositivas, are a key aspect of fluid and natural speech. They occur when certain prepositions merge with articles or demonstratives, creating a single contraction. These contractions help improve the rhythm of the language and are essential for natural sounding Portuguese.

Prepositions contract with definite articles (o, a, os, as), and sometimes with demonstratives (este, aquel) and indefinite articles (um, uma). The most common prepositions that contract are: a (to/at), de (of/from), em (in/on/at), and por (by/through/for). Below we’ll take a look at each of these common prepositions and the common contractions you’ll encounter.

Portuguese Prepositional Contractions with a (to/at)

First, let’s look at prepositional contractions with a (to/at).

A Contractions with Definite Articles

The preposition a contracts with definite articles to form ao, à, aos, às.

Let’s see a few examples.

• Vou ao mercado.
  I’m going to the market.
• Cheguei à festa cedo.
  I arrived at the party early.
• Vamos aos jogos amanhã.
  We’re going to the games tomorrow.
• Fui às montanhas no fim de semana.
  I went to the mountains over the weekend.

A Contractions with Demonstratives

Now let’s turn to demonstratives. Remember that Portuguese has a three-way split in demonstratives: este and its forms refer to something close to the speaker, esse refers to something close to the listener, and aquele refers to something more distant to both. These forms are used when you know the identity (and gender) of the noun. If there’s no particular noun that’s being referred to, or if the identity is unknown, Portuguese uses the abstract, gender neutral isto, isso, aquilo, with the same three-way split.

A only contracts with the demonstratives the aquele forms. Notice that this just means changing the a in the demonstrative to à. This doesn’t change pronunciation.

Let’s see some examples. Remember that a does not contract with the demonstrative este or esse.

• Dei o presente àquele rapaz.
  I gave the gift to that guy.
• Dei o presente a este rapaz.
  I gave the gift to this guy.
• Fiz referência àquela história.
  I referred to that story.
• Passamos agora àquilo.
  Now we move on to that (thing/topic/situation).

Portuguese Prepositional Contractions with de (of, from)

Next, let’s look at prepositional contractions with de (of, from). De has more contracted forms than a, because it contracts with definite articles, all three demonstratives, and even indefinite articles.

De Contractions with Definite Articles

The preposition de contracts with definite articles to form do, da, dos, das.

Let’s see a few examples.

• O livro do professor é interessante.
  The teacher’s book is interesting.
• O carro da minha mãe é vermelho.
  My mom’s car is red.
• Os amigos dos alunos chegaram.
  The students’ friends arrived.
• A chave das portas está perdida.
  The key to the doors is lost.

De Contractions with Demonstratives

De also contracts with all three demonstratives este, esse, and aquele, as well as the abstract, gender neutral forms.

De contractions with este

First, let’s begin with este. Note that these contractions simple add d– to the beginning.

• O clima deste país é agradável.
  The climate of this country is pleasant.
• Estou falando desta situação.
  I’m talking about this situation.
• O resultado destes exames foi positivo.
  The result of these tests was positive.
• Não gosto destas cores.
  I don’t like these colors.

De contractions with esse

Next, let’s turn to esse. Again, just add d– to the beginning.

• Eu não gosto desse vinho.
  I don’t like that wine.
• Quais são os títulos desses livros?
  What are the titles of those books?
• Qual é o sentido disso?
  What’s the point of that?

De contractions with aquele

Finally, let’s see the contractions with aquele, which also just add d-.

Let’s see a few examples.

• Gosto muito daquele filme.
  I really like that movie.
• A ideia daquela professora foi interessante.
  That teacher’s idea was interesting.
• O professor não gosta daquilo.
  The teacher doesn’t like that.

De Contractions with Indefinite Articles

You may hear contractions formed with the preposition de and the indefinite articles. However, Brazilians typically prefer the full forms.

Here are some examples.

• Ele falou dum (de um) problema importante.
  He talked about an important problem.
• O resultado duns (de uns) exames foi positivo.
  The result of some tests was positive.

Portuguese Prepositional Contractions with em (in/on/at)

Next, let’s look at prepositional contractions with em (in, on, at). Em, like de, forms many contractions.

Em Contractions with Definite Articles

The preposition em contracts with definite articles. Just add n– to the article.

• Coloque a carta na caixa de correio.
  Put the letter in the mailbox.
• O dinheiro está no banco.
  The money is in the bank.
• Ela trabalha na escola.
  She works at the school.

Em Contractions with Demonstratives

Em also contracts with all three demonstratives este, esse, and aquele, as well as the abstract, gender neutral forms.

Em contractions with este

First, let’s begin with este. Note that these contractions simple add n– to the beginning.

• Eu moro nesta cidade.
  I live in this city.
• O livro está nesta mesa.
  The book is on this table.
• O que você tem nessas caixas?
  What do you have in those boxes?

En contractions with esse

Next, let’s turn to esse. Again, just add n– to the beginning.

• O que tem nessa bolsa?
  What’s in that bag?
• Há um capítulo interessante nesse livro.
  There’s an interesting chapter in that book.

Em contractions with aquele

Finally, let’s see the contractions with aquele, which also just add n-.

Let’s see a few examples.

• Quantas pessoas estão naqueles carros?
  How many people are in those cars?
• Meu escritório fica naquele prédio.
  My office is in that building.
• Não estamos interessados ​​naquilo.
  We’re not interested in that.

Em Contractions with Indefinite Articles

There are also contractions with em and the indefinite articles. These are common in the spoken language, but quite rare in written language.

Here are some examples.

• O documento está num envelope.
  The document is in an envelope.
• Compramos frutas numa feira.
  We bought fruits at a market.
• Eu não moro numa (em uma) casa, eu moro num (em um) apartamento.
  I don’t live in a house, I live in an apartment.

Portuguese Prepositional Contractions with por and para

Now, let’s look at prepositional contractions with por (by/through/for) and para (to, toward, for). These prepositions only contract with the definite articles. The contractions with por are always used, but the contractions with para are optional, and usually only happen in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.

• Passamos pelo parque ontem.
  We passed through the park yesterday.
• Fiz isso pela minha família.
  I did this for my family.
• Eles viajaram para o (pro) Rio de Janeiro.
  They traveled to Rio de Janeiro.

Practice

Finally, let’s practice all of that. Complete each sentence by forming contractions with the items in parentheses. Then translate. Answers are below.

1. Moro ____ casa. (em + uma)
2. Quanto você pagou _____ café? (por + o)
3. O livro _____ professor é interessante. (de + o)
4. Ela trabalha ____ escola. (em + a)
5. Cheguei _____ festa cedo. (a + a)
6. O dinheiro está ____ banco. (em + o)
7. Fui _____ montanhas no fim de semana. (a + as)
8. Gosto muito _____ filme. (de + aquele)
9. Os documentos estão ____ arquivos. (em + estes)
10. Estou falando _____ situação. (de + esta)
11. Os turistas viajaram _____ países vizinhos. (por + os)
12. Compramos frutas ____ feira. (em + uma)
13. O resultado _____ exames foi positivo. (de + estes)
14. A ideia _____ professora foi interessante. (de + aquela)
15. O carro _____ minha mãe é vermelho. (de + a)
16. Passamos ____ parque ontem. (por + o)
17. Vamos ____ jogos amanhã. (a + os)
18. Ele falou ____ problema importante. (de + um)
19. A chave _____ portas está perdida. (de + as)
20. O documento está ____ envelope. (em + um)

Get on the road to speaking Portuguese with the Language Garage!

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Portuguese prepositional contractions. If you’d like to learn more:

• Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Twitter, Threads, Instagram, or Pinterest. We publish lots of Portuguese vocabulary, grammar, and culture notes, so it’s a great way to pick up some new vocabulary and practice.
• Check out our other posts on Portuguese language, culture, and more.
• Enroll in affordable, flexible, and personalized private online Portuguese lessons or sign up for a small group online Portuguese class.
• Create a free Language Garage account to access tons of Portuguese vocabulary, grammar, and culture.

Answer Key

1. Moro numa casa. (I live in a house.)
2. Quanto você pagou pelo café? (How much did you pay for the coffee?)
3. O livro do professor é interessante. (The teacher’s book is interesting.)
4. Ela trabalha na escola. (She works at the school.)
5. Cheguei à festa cedo. (I arrived at the party early.)
6. O dinheiro está no banco. (The money is in the bank.)
7. Fui às montanhas no fim de semana. (I went to the mountains over the weekend.)
8. Gosto muito daquele filme. (I really like that movie.)
9. Os documentos estão nestes arquivos. (The documents are in these files.)
10. Estou falando desta situação. (I’m talking about this situation.)
11. Os turistas viajaram pelos países vizinhos. (The tourists traveled through the neighboring countries.)
12. Compramos frutas numa feira. (We bought fruits at a market.)
13. O resultado destes exames foi positivo. (The result of these tests was positive.)
14. A ideia daquela professora foi interessante. (That teacher’s idea was interesting.)
15. O carro da minha mãe é vermelho. (My mom’s car is red.)
16. Passamos pelo parque ontem. (We passed through the park yesterday.)
17. Vamos aos jogos amanhã. (We’re going to the games tomorrow.)
18. Ele falou dum problema importante. (He talked about an important problem.)
19. A chave das portas está perdida. (The key to the doors is lost.)
20. O documento está num envelope. (The document is in an envelope.)

Photo by Gigi Visacri on Unsplash