Brazilian Portuguese Articles

How to use prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese?

By: Fabiana Dametto Oliveira Thu Dec 12 2024

Prepositions

Prepositions of time are used before times, dates, and other nouns to create phrases that describe when something takes place. The most common prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese are a(at), de(of, from), em(on, in, at), para(to), por(for), desde(since), and até(until).

Eu saio de casa às 7h.

I leave home at 7 am.

→ às = a(at) + as(the)

In this post, we’ll review the most commonly-used prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese, and discuss their forms and when to use each one. We’ll also discuss some compound prepositions of time like antes de(before) and depois de(after). Curious to know more? Keep reading!

What are the prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese?

The most important prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese are a(at), de(of, from), em(in), para(to), por(for), desde(since), and até(until).

Tip

Many of these prepositions can form contractions with a definite article: o, a, os, as(the). For example a(at) + os(the) → aos(at the). You may find it useful to keep our list of contractions between prepositions and definite articles in Brazilian Portuguese open while you read this article, so that you recognize all the forms.

How to use ‘a’ as a preposition of time in Brazilian Portuguese?

We use the preposition a(at) to introduce the exact time of the day (e.g. “at 3:00”), to introduce periods of the day (e.g. “at night”), or to introduce recurring days of the week (e.g. “on Wednesdays”).

a + exact time of day:
When it introduces an exact time, a most often appears as às(at the). Às is the contraction of the preposition a with the feminine plural definite article as(the). We usually use this contraction before times of day because the definite article as comes before times on the clock, where it agrees with the feminine plural noun horas(hours).
Eu acordo às seis horas.
I wake up at six o’clock.
⤷TIP
Check out our post on how to tell time in Brazilian Portuguese, to review how you can articulate the time of day!
Exception!
When the hour is singular (at 1:00 am/pm), the contraction becomes à instead, because the article involved is feminine singular instead, like hora(hour): a + a → à(at the).
Eu almoço à 1 hora.
I have lunch at 1 pm.
Additionally, if you give the time using an expression like meio dia(noon), which does not involve the word hora(s), the contraction will agree with the alternate time expression instead.
masuline singular
Eu almoço ao meio dia.
I have lunch at noon.
→ a + o = ao
Tip
When you want to report the current time, you don’t need any prepositions of time or definite articles:
Que horas são? São cinco horas.
What time is it? It’s five o'clock.
a + period of the day:
We also use the preposition a to refer to the periods of the day:
- Ele estuda à noite.
  He studies at night.
- Ele lê à tarde.
  He reads in the afternoon.
Exception!
To refer to the morning period, manhã(morning), we don't say à manhã. Instead, we should use the preposition de with the word manhã to refer to the morning as a time of day:
- ❌ Ele nada à manhã.
- ✅ Ele nada de manhã.
  He swims in the morning.
On the other hand, Brazilians often say de noite or de tarde in informal language, but this form is not considered grammatically correct, as in:
- Você estuda de noite?
  Do you study in the evening?
- Não, eu estudo de tarde.
  No, I study in the afternoon.
The grammatically correct preposition to use with noite and tarde is a (contracted with the definite articles): à noite, à tarde.
a + recurring days of the week:
The preposition of time a is used before the plural form of a day of the week, to describe actions that recur on the same day.
- Eu estudo português às segundas-feiras.
  I study Portuguese on Mondays.
- Eu faço pilates aos sábados.
  I do pilates on Saturdays.
Tip
The days of the week are all feminine, and the weekend days sábado(Saturday) and domingo(Sunday) are masculine.
If the action is not recurring, we use the preposition em instead of a, as in:
Na segunda eu estudei para o meu exame de português.
On Monday I studied for my Portuguese exam.

How to use ‘de’ as a preposition of time in Brazilian Portuguese?

In Brazilian Portuguese, we use de(of, from) inside the date, and in the combination de…a… (from...to...) to describe a duration.

de in dates:
We use de inside phrases that describe the date, placing de both before the month and before the year.
Hoje é 20 de janeiro de 2020.
Today is 20 of January of 2020.
de…a…(from…to…):
We can also use the combination de…a…(from…to…) to indicate the duration of something.
As crianças terão férias de junho a agosto.
The kids are going to be on vacation from June to August.
If you use de…a…(from…to…) with times of day, you’ll often need to use the contractions of de and a.
Nós trabalhamos das 8h às 17h.
We work from 8h to 17h.
→ de + as = das / a + as = às
Tip
Instead of de…a…, we can also use the preposition entre(between) in the sentence above:
As crianças terão férias entre junho e agosto.
The kids are going to be on vacation between June and August.

How to use ‘em’ as a preposition of time?

The preposition of time em(on, in, at) – and its contractions no, na, nos, nas(in the) — is used to introduce exact dates (including holidays and days of the week), and in phrases that describe something that took place during a month, year, century, decade, or season. We also use em to give estimations of how long something will take.

em + exact date / precise day:
Use em to introduce an exact date.
O meu aniversário é em 25 de janeiro.
My birthday is on the 25th of January.
Tip
You can use the non-contracted form em before a date, but if you include the word dia(day) you must use the contraction no, since dia is a masculine singular word:
masculine singular
Eu faço aniversário no dia 25 de janeiro.
I have a birthday on the 25th of January.
Check out our post on how to say the date in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more!
As we mentioned above, you also use em before a day of the week, if the action doesn’t regularly happen on the same day.
Na segunda eu estudei para o meu exame de português.
On Monday I studied for my Portuguese exam.
→ em + a = na
You can also use em before holidays:
Minha família vai se reunir na Páscoa.
My family will gather at Easter.
em + longer period:
Use em + time period to describe actions or situations that existed sometime during a period longer than a day. This could mean that it took place during a month, year, season, decade, or century, but it could also mean that it took place during a long holiday or some other extended time period.
You will use the uncontracted form, em, before months and years.
- em março
  in March
- em 2022
  in 2022
But in other cases you will need to use a contracted form of em. Don’t forget to check the gender and number of the noun to use the correct contraction!
- Eu nasci em 1990, no século XX.
  Eu nasci em 1990, no século XX.
  → em + o = no
- Vamos ao Brasil nas férias.
  We are going to Brazil on vacation.
- Eles adoram ir à praia no verão.
  They love to go to the beach in the summer.
Tip
Did you know that all seasons are masculine in Brazilian Portuguese, except for “spring”?
o verão, o inverno, o outono, a primavera
the summer, the winter, the autumn, the spring
em + estimated amount of time:
Much like “in” in English, we can also use the preposition em to indicate an estimated amount of time:
A pizza será entregue em 20 minutos.
The pizza will be delivered in 20 minutes.
Tip
There are a few phrases we could use instead of em in this use: dentro de(within) or daqui a(in).
- A pizza chegará dentro de 20 minutos.
  The pizza will be delivered within 20 minutes.
  → a bit formal
- A pizza chegará daqui a 20 minutos.
  The pizza will be delivered in 20 minutes.

How to use ‘para’ as a preposition of time?

Para(to, for) is used as a preposition of time to express deadlines.

O vencimento é para segunda-feira.
The due date is for Monday.
O relatório é para amanhã.
The report is for tomorrow.

It can also be used, when giving the time of day, to introduce the number of minutes remaining until the next hour:

São quinze para as onze (10h45).

It’s fifteen to eleven (10:45).

How to use ‘por’ as a preposition of time?

We use the preposition of time por(for) to introduce a length of time or to approximate the time.

por + length of time:
Use por + length of time like you would use “for” + length of time in English:
Pedro alugou um carro por uma semana.
Pedro rented a car for a week.
You can also use the preposition durante(during) to do the same thing:
Pedro alugou um carro durante uma semana.
Pedro rented a car for a week.
por to approximate the time:
We can also use por before an approximate time or as an equivalent to “sometime during” in English. In this case, we have to use the contractions of por and the definite articles: pelo, pelos, pela, pelas, depending on the gender and number of the following noun.
- A reunião acabará pelas onze horas.
  The meeting will end more-or-less at eleven.
  → por + as = pelas
- A aula acabará pela tarde.
  The class will end sometime during the afternoon.
  → por + a = pela
Tip
Do you want to express approximate times in a slightly more formal way? In this case, you can use the compound preposition por volta de(around):
A reunião acabará por volta das onze horas.
The meeting will end around eleven o'clock.

How to use the preposition of time ‘desde’?

The preposition of time desde(since) introduces a time that represents the start of an action or situation that continues to the present. You can use desde with any period of time, such as days, months, and years.

Ela trabalha na empresa desde 2020.

She has worked in the company since 2020.

How to use the preposition of time ‘até’?

The preposition of time até(until) is used to indicate the end of an action at a particular time.

Eles terão férias até agosto.

They will be on holiday until August.

Tip

We can use the combinations desde…até…(since…until…) or de…até…(from…until…) in to give both the start and end of a situation or action:

Ela trabalhou na mesma empresa desde 2010 até 2020.
Ela trabalhou na mesma empresa de 2010 até 2020.

She worked at the same company from 2010 until 2020.

How to use ‘antes de’ and ‘depois de’ in Brazilian Portuguese?

Antes de and depois de mean “before” and “after” in Brazilian Portuguese. Both of these are considered “compound prepositions” because they are made of more than one word.

Ele toma chá antes de dormir.
He drinks tea before going to bed.
Ele vai à academia depois de trabalhar.
He goes to the gym after work.

Tip

If you want to sound a little bit more formal, you can use the preposition após(after) instead of depois de:

Ele vai à academia após trabalhar.

He goes to the gym after work.

In summary

In this post, we reviewed the prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese and how to use them:

a(at) → exact time of day / period of the day / recurring day of the week
de(from, of) → within dates / de…a for a period of time
em(on, in, at) → exact dates / periods of time (months, years, centuries, seasons,...) / estimated amount of time
para(for) → deadlines
por(for) → length of time / approximate time
desde(from, since)
até(from, since)
antes de(before)
depois de(after)

To practice using prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese, check out our activities!

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