Brazilian Portuguese prepositions of movement are used to indicate the direction in which something is moving or to give information about the path something is traveling.
Prepositions of movement are often used together with verbs of motion like ir(to go) or vir(to come). In this post, we will review each of the specific prepositions of movement and when to use them, while providing you with some tips about the differences between particularly tricky pairs. Curious to know more? Let’s go!
How to use the preposition ‘a’ for movement?
In Brazilian Portuguese, the preposition a means “to,” and it is used before the destination of a movement. Generally we will only use a if the person or thing that is moving will remain at the destination for a short period of time, so a is usually used for nearby destinations such as shops and other places where you might remain for just a while.
Voltei a casa depois das dez horas.
I came back home after ten o’clock.
Verbs of movement like ir(to go), vir(to come), voltar(to come back), and chegar(to arrive) are frequently followed by the preposition a.
In informal language, people often replace the preposition a with em, or its contractionsNo definition set for contractionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. no(s), na(s). For example:
Eu vou ao supermercado → Eu vou no supermercado
I’ll go to the supermarket.
Although this is quite common and acceptable in everyday conversations, a is the grammatically correct preposition of movement meaning “to,” whereas em(preposition of place) is a preposition of place.
A is a very common preposition in Brazilian Portuguese, but sometimes its form will change depending on the rest of the sentence. Let’s move on to the contractions of a.
Contractions of ‘a’
Most of the time, the preposition a is followed by the definite articlesNo definition set for definite articlesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. o, a, os, as(the). When this happens, a and the definite article will always form a contraction meaning “to the”:
For example:
masculine singular
Você foi ao supermercado?
Did you go to the supermarket?
How to use the preposition ‘para’ for movement?
Like a, we can use the preposition para(to) to refer to final destinations, in two circumstances:
For a destination where you will stay for a long period of time
We use para after the verbs of movement ir(to go), vir(to come), voltar(to come back), and chegar(to arrive), before giving a destination where you will stay for a significant period of time, usually to a country or a city.
Ele vai para o Brasil estudar português.
He is going to Brazil to study Portuguese.
Ele se mudará para São Paulo.
He will move to São Paulo.
Recall that for short-term destinations, like stores or local destinations, you’ll use a(to) instead!
When the destination represents the direction of movement
In this use, para is translated more like “towards” + destination. We often use this preposition to describe travel via some particular means of transport.
Esse trem vai para o centro da cidade?
Does this train go to the city center?
Eles viajaram para a Bahia de avião.
They traveled to Bahia by plane.
Contractions of ‘para’
We normally contract the preposition para with the definite articles, especially in spoken Brazilian Portuguese. The forms are:
For example:
Ele vai pro Brasil estudar português.
He is going to Brazil to study Portuguese.
Before countries, we generally do use definite articles.
para o / pro Brasil(to Brazil)
para a / pra Argentina(to Argentina)
However, we generally do not use articles before cities:
para São Paulo(to São Paulo)
para Buenos Aires(to Buenos Aires)
You will sometimes use the contraction pra before a city, because the expression a cidade de(the city of) is implied. See the examples below:
Você foi pra (cidade de) Nova Iorque?
Did you go to (the city of) New York?
O ônibus pra (cidade de) Florianópolis sai às 11h.
The bus to (the city of) Florianópolis leaves at 11 am.
‘A’ or ‘para’?
As mentioned above, a and para are both prepositions used to say that we are going somewhere, but there is a distinction between them:
a(to) states a short permanence in a place, whereas
para(to) states a long permanence in a place.
However, in informal spoken and written Brazilian Portuguese, this distinction is mostly ignored. Brazilians often use para (and its contractions) not only for long permanence, but for short stays in a place, too.
Você vai para o / pro trabalho hoje?
Are you going to work today?
This means that each of the following is acceptable in Brazilian Portuguese:
✅Você vai ao trabalho hoje?
✅Você vai para o trabalho hoje?
✅Você vai pro trabalho hoje?
When para is used to express a final destination, it cannot be replaced with the preposition a.
❌O avião vai à Holanda.
✅O avião vai para a Holanda.
The plane goes to Holland.
How to use the preposition ‘por’ for movement?
Por is commonly used with the same verbs of movement we have seen earlier in the post (ir, vir, voltar, chegar), and it is used to describe the route of movement, meaning “by,” “for,” “through,” or “around” in English. For example:
O ônibus vai por esta rua?
Does the bus go along this street?
Por can also be combined with additional verbs of movement, such as passar(to pass) and andar(to go/walk).
O ônibus passa por essa rua?
Does the bus pass (by) this street?
Você sempre anda por este caminho?
Do you always walk this way?
We can also use the compound prepositions por cima de(over) or por baixo de(under) to indicate movement in a similar way:
Você vai passar por baixo da ponte?
Will you pass under the bridge?
Contractions of ‘por’
Like with the other prepositions of movement in Brazilian Portuguese, it is also very common to use the contractions of por and the definite articles:
For example:
feminine singular
Você vem pela avenida principal?
Are you coming through the main avenue?
masculine singular
Eu andei pelo bairro procurando um lugar para comer.
I went around the neighborhood looking for a place to eat.
How to use the preposition ‘de’ for movement?
The preposition de(from, by) can be used to refer to the starting point of the movement.
I leave from home at 7 am.
The preposition de can also introduce certain methods of transport, as in:
Vamos ao trabalho de metrô.
We’ll go to work by subway.
We can also use other prepositions to introduce the method of transport:
Use em (and its contractions) to introduce the method of transport when we add specific information about that form of transportation.
Nós vamos ao trabalho no metrô das 11h.
We’ll go to work on the 11 am subway.
→ em + o(the) = no
Use the preposition a in some specific expressions: ir a pé(to go on foot) and a cavalo:
Eu vou a pé ao escritório.
I’ll go on foot to the office.
Rafael andou a cavalo na fazenda.
Rafael rode a horse on the farm.
Contractions of ‘de’
You must also use the contractions of de and the definite articles according to the gender and number of the following noun:
For example:
masculine singular
Voltei do trabalho mais tarde.
How to use the preposition ‘em’ for movement?
The preposition em can also be used to show movement, meaning “into, onto.” For example:
As crianças entraram em uma sala pequena.
The kids got into a small room.
Contractions of ‘em’
Use the contractions of em with the definite articles, again according to the gender and number of the following noun:
For example:
How to use the preposition ‘até’ for movement?
The preposition até(until, to) can be used to indicate the limits of the movement in question. For example:
Fomos até o fim da rua para te encontrar.
We went until the end of the street to meet you.
Unlike the prepositions a, para, de, and em, there are no contractions for the preposition até.
We also use the preposition combinations de…a(from…to) and de…até(from…until/to) to refer to the starting and ending points of one’s movement.
Vou do Brasil à Argentina de avião.
I am going from Brazil to Argentina by plane.
Vou do Brasil até a Argentina de avião.
I am going from Brazil to Argentina by plane.
What are compound prepositions of movement?
Compound prepositions of movement are groups of words that together act like a preposition of movement. Let’s take a look at some examples of these in Brazilian Portuguese.
em volta de / ao redor de(around)
Nós caminhamos em volta do parque.
Nós caminhamos ao redor do parque.
We walked around the park.
Brazilians often say dar uma volta to mean “go for a walk.”
Vamos dar uma volta no centro da cidade?
Let’s go for a walk in the city center?
em direção a(toward)
Em direção a(toward) can be used in place of para, but em direção a is a bit more precise.
As crianças estão andando em direção à escola.
As crianças estão andando para a escola.
The kids are walking toward the school.
In summary
In this post, we reviewed all of the prepositions of place in Brazilian Portuguese and when they are each used. These prepositions often accompany the verbs of movement ir(to go), vir(to come), voltar(to come back), and chegar(to arrive). Here’s a recap of what we’ve learned:
a(to) → short permanence in a place, contracts with the definite articles
para(to) → long permanence in a place, contracts with the definite articles
por(by, for, through, around) → describes the route the movement takes
de(from) → indicates the starting point of movement
até(to, until) → indicates the limits of the movement
em volta de(around), ao redor de(around), em direção a(toward) → compound prepositions
Are you ready to practice prepositions of movement in Brazilian Portuguese with some activities?
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