A is a very important and versatile Portuguese preposition. It can correspond to many different English words, depending on the context. For example:
Vou a Espanha no próximo anoI will go to Spain in the next year
Ela foi para lá a péShe went there on foot
Isto sabe a morangoThis tastes like strawberry
daqui a uma semanain a week – i.e. “From here to a week” – Within the time frame from now until a week from now
More often than not, it means “to”, but it’s important not to get tied to an exact translation, especially when it comes to words that serve a grammatical function, like prepositions.
A… or A?
It’s easy to mistake the preposition a with the definite article a. They both look the same, but they serve different functions in the sentence. As you hear or read a Portuguese sentence, think about whether “a” would make more sense as:
- the word the (in which case it’s serving as a definite article for a feminine noun), or
- something else! (in which case it is likely working as a preposition).
Contractions
Let’s see how we combine the preposition a with definite articles (o, a, os, as) to form contractions:
| othe | athe | osthe | asthe | |
| ato | ao | à | aos | às |
Here are a few examples of these contractions in context:
Vou a + a cidade = Vou à cidadeI'm going to the city
a + a frente de = à frente dein (the) front of, ahead of
Eles vão a + os Jogos Olímpicos = Eles vão aos Jogos OlímpicosThey're going to the Olympic Games
Eles vão a + as 14h20 = Eles vão às 14h20They are going at 14:20 (2:20p.m.)
It seems to me there’s a whole lot to “a” that could be covered here… In the grammar text I’m using, “Gramática Ativa”, there’s a lot about using “preposiçoes de tempo” that distinguishes between the use of “a”, “de”, and “em”. I would love it if you could provide more (information and quizzes) about using “a” as a preposition, since I’m finding it rather tricky! Thank you!
Thanks, that’s a good idea! We focused on just providing an overview of the prepositions in this unit, but we could work on creating more resources to help distinguish between when each is used. Ultimately, mastering these relies heavily on getting lots of exposure to different examples. So in the meantime, try to pay special attention to some of the different contexts where “a” is used as you work through the Units and also the Shorties.
I thought ‘sabe’ meant ‘he knows’ and to taste is ‘provar’. Have I missed something?
Olá, Brian. Yes, provar can refer to the action of tasting something, but when you want to describe what something tastes like, then we use the verb saber. So, saber not only means to know, but also to taste [like]. Here are some examples:
– Eu sei o teu nome (I know your name).
– Isto sabe bem, sabe a morango! Queres provar? (This tastes good, tastes like strawberry! Do you want to taste it?)
Could you explain when to use “para” and when to use “a” when you’re talking about going somewhere?
In the first example, above, you’ve got “vou a Espanha no próximo ano” — but on the previous page there’s “eu vou para Portugal”.
Thanks
Olá, Tim! Both prepositions describe a movement to a place. The difference between them is in the duration that they express. Usually, we say “vou a” for temporary/short-term movements and “vou para” for permanent/long-term movements. This is not as clear-cut as it may seem, though. Here’s a relevant forum topic where we’ve discussed this in more detail: “A” or “para” with verbs of motion?
Thank you, Joseph. The forum was useful as well.
All the best
Soo much to learn!!!
Nós vamos à frente de…
We are in front of…
Doesn’t Nós vamos à frente de…
translate as: We GO to the front?
Olá, Whit. “Vamos à frente” can mean “We go to the front”, but also “We’re ahead”. For example:
– Vamos à frente da competição. (We’re ahead of the competition)
– Vamos à frente na liga. (We’re ahead in the league)
“We are in front of” is not an ideal translation, I’d say. Thanks for bringing our attention to it!
Not only are the individual lessons set up very well, but then the dialogues following the lesson provide further guidance/refinement which really adds to the learning process. It makes the whole experience feel personalized.
Olá –
Realmente estou divertir-me os lições de “Practice Portuguese” mas tenho algumas perguntas. After learning more about prepositions, I find myself wondering about some of the phrases which appeared in earlier units, in particular:
(1) Eu vou à praia aos sábados – why is it “aos sábados” and not “nos sábados” ?
(2) Apareces no almoço amanhã? – why is it “no almoço” and not “para almoço” (as in “apareço para jantar” ) or “a almoço” ?
Muito obrigado pela ajuda !
Olá, Peter. Ainda bem que estás a gostar das lições!
Answering your questions:
(1) We use the preposition “a” (aos) because we’re referring to an habitual/repeated action. It’s also why the day of the week is pluralized.
(2) “Almoço” is a noun here, so we say “no almoço”. If we used the infinitive form of the verb almoçar, we would then say “para almoçar”. Similarly, in “para jantar”, “jantar” is not a noun (dinner), but the infinitive form of the verb jantar (to dine/to have dinner). It just so happens that the infinitive and the noun look the same, which doesn’t happen with “almoço”/”almoçar” 🙂
Obrigado Joseph
(1) Makes sense – so for habitual actions – “a” is used rather than “em’ (as in “on Saturdays”)
(2) Are you saying that one only uses “para” for as a “traditional adverb” (struggling to name something which only modifies a verb) ? So it is “at lunch” rather than “for lunch” in Portuguese ?
De nada, Peter. For (2), I actually gave you an incomplete answer before, so let me complete it now. If we want to use “para” with the noun “almoço” in this context, although we shouldn’t do it directly (e.g. “para almoço”), we can do it if we add the definite article in between as a connecting element: “para o almoço”. That’s pretty much what happens with “no almoço”, since “no” = em + o. So yeah, you can still think of it as “for lunch” (or literally “for the lunch”).
Parfeito !
Agora entendo.
I got a question about the preposition for “chegar __ casa”. Should it be “a casa”, “em casa” or “para casa”?
I’ve heard “a” and “em” in songs (any difference?), but “para” also sounds reasonable…
Olá! We would not say “chegar para casa”. But the other two are both possible: “chegar a casa” is the preferred option in European Portuguese. In the Brazilian and African variants, “chegar em casa” is very common.
Joseph! Obrigada, muito. Adrienne Silva ,your#1 fan
Obrigado eu! 🙂
why in the following sentence is de used & not em?
Eu estou de férias?
de=of,by,from.
em=in,on,at.
i’m confused.com 🙂
Olá! The preposition ‘de’ can be translated in multiple ways depending on context, as explained in our Learning Note about it. This is a case where it’s translated as ‘on’. “Em férias” would also be grammatically acceptable, although it’s used less frequently.
Hi,
Quick one on the pronunciation of a and à. I always thought these were pronounced the same, but the audio examples are slightly different. Tricky to describe, but the à preposition seems to be spoken with a bit more of an open mouth and is harder than ‘a’. Is this just variation in the recording, or is this an actual difference in the pronunciation?
You’re correct in noticing a slight difference in pronunciation between ‘a’ and ‘à’! The preposition ‘à’ is indeed pronounced with a more open mouth and is slightly harder than ‘a’. This is not just a variation in the recording, but an actual difference in pronunciation.
For a more detailed explanation, you can refer to our Pronunciation Guide for European Portuguese Vowels: https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-vowels/
Hi! In the last unit we had “eles estão de pé” meaning “they are standing” and here we have “ela foi a pé”. Is the distinction around whether one is moving or not? ie “de pé” one is standing but not going anywhere, and “a pé” implies movement in a direction? In english I think the mention of foot/feet always implies movement, if I say “She is on foot” it implies she is walking somewhere even though movement is not implicit in the use of the verb. Obrigada!
That is correct! “De pé” means someone is standing (on their feet), whilst “a pé” implies movement, someone is walking on foot/by foot. 🙂
Since a means, in, how would I know whether I should use a or em, no, na etc?
In the sense of ‘in’, ’em’ is the most common choice in Portuguese. The respective contractions ‘no’ and ‘na’ will only be used if a definite article is required in the sense (or any other contractable elements). So, my quick tip is to assume ’em’ for ‘in’ by default and just keep an eye for the few cases where ‘a’ might also be used with that meaning. There’s no linear correspondence between English and Portuguese when it comes to prepositions, so you will need to rely a lot on the examples of use shown throughout our resources and general exposure to the language, I’m afraid 🙂 We’re always here to help, of course, so feel free to reach out to us if you need clarification on any specific cases.
Dear Joseph
Would it be possible that “a” could also mean “for”?
Olá 🙂 It is a very versatile preposition, but no specific example came to my mind where “a” would be translated as “for”. Were you thinking of any specific case?