You learned in The Preposition “De” (from the first Prepositions unit) that de has several different meanings and can be joined together (contracted) with:
- articles (do, da, dos, das), and
- pronouns (dele, dela, deles, delas)
De + Variable Demonstratives
Another very common combination is with demonstratives. Let’s look at the contractions formed by combining defrom, of with variable demonstratives:
| Relative Position | Demonstrative | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| Near the speaker: | estethis estathis estesthese estasthese | deste desta destes destas |
| Near the listener: | essethat essathat essesthose essasthose | desse dessa desses dessas |
| Away from both: | aquelethat aquelathat aquelesthose aquelasthose | daquele daquela daqueles daquelas |
As you can see, they are all formed by simply adding a “d” to the beginning of the demonstrative. These contractions can express possession, origin, direction, and more. Here are some examples:
Este livro é deste autorThis book is from this (male) author
Vou dessa cidade para aquela amanhãI will go from that (near listener) town to that (far away) one tomorrow
Deita fora os restos daqueles pratosThrow away the leftovers from those plates
De + Invariable Demonstratives
Similarly, de also combines with the invariable demonstratives (isto, isso, and aquilo) to form:
| Near the speaker: | disto |
| Near the listener: | disso |
| Away from both: | daquilo |
Remember that with invariable demonstratives, the contractions formed cannot be followed by nouns, because they usually describe something unknown or abstract.
Não gosto distoI don't like this
Tudo mudou depois daquiloEverything changed after that
Can you please explain this which came up in one of the units:
“Não fales nisto”. Where does “fales” come from?
The English translation was given as “Do not talk about this” which is present tense, so why not “falas”?
This is conjugated in the imperative mood, which is used when giving commands (“do this”, “don’t do this”).
More info here: https://www.practiceportuguese.com/units/main/the-imperative/ See the “Negative Commands” section of the learning note.
I’m sure my question has been answered in the notes, and I’m just not getting my head around it. Can you please explain why a demonstrative contraction is used, for example, in “Ela gosta dessa amiga,” rather than “Ela gosta essa amiga.” I understand usage of the contractions when they are in place of “from this,” “from that,” etc. Thanks!
The reason “dessa” is used in “Ela gosta dessa amiga” is because when using the verb “gostar” the preposition “de” always comes next when conveying the feeling towards something or the like OF something or being fond OF something.
Examples: “Eu gosto de café” = “I like coffee”
“Tu gostas de correr” = “You like running”
“Nós gostamos de ti” = “We like you (sing. inf.)”
“Eles gostam daquele restaurante” = “They like that restaurant” (daquele = de + aquele)
“Dessa” (de + essa) translates to “of that” (or “about that”) in English. So, “Ela gosta dessa amiga” means “She likes that friend” implying a particular feeling towards the friend, that friend.
Thank you very much for the response! So, “gostar” is one of the verbs where “de” is required. I remember reading that sometimes prepositions follow verbs where there wouldn’t be a preposition in English. I struggle with this, but I’m assuming, with repetition, it’ll eventually sink in. I did some digging and found an old comment advising to translate “gosto de” as “I am fond of,” rather than “I like.” This helps me a lot. Now I just need more tricks like that for the other instances I’m confused. 😀
It’ll certainly sink in! Take your time, keep practicing and don’t be too hard on yourself. 🙂
Why is it, ‘eu não sei disso’ and not ‘eu não sei isso’ ? Equally why is it ‘tudo mudou depois daquilo’ rather than ‘…. aquilo’. I get that gostar is followed by the preposition de.
Olá. “…Sei disso” and “…sei isso” are both grammatically possible and used interchangeably in some contexts. The former might be translated as “…I know about that”, unlike “sei isso”, which can only mean “I know that”. As for “depois daquilo”, it must be written like that because the word “depois” requires the preposition “de” after it. So, “depois aquilo” is grammatically incorrect.