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Study Resource: Brazilian Portuguese verbs that are followed by prepositions

By: Ana Amélia Rodrigues dos Santos
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These activities are part of our Brazilian Portuguese Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

This page lists several common verbs in Brazilian Portuguese that are followed by the prepositions a, com, de, and em. We’ll also cover a few verbs that are not followed by prepositions in Brazilian Portuguese, even though they are in English.

Verbs followed by ‘a’

This table illustrates the meanings of verbs combined with the preposition a(to) in Brazilian Portuguese.

Verb
Example

acostumar-se a

to get used to

Eles se acostumaram a dormir cedo.

They got used to sleeping early.

ajudar a

to help to

Ele me ajudou a estudar para a prova.

He helped me study for the test.

ajudar a

to learn to

Ele aprendeu a dirigir.

He learned to drive.

assistir a

to watch

Eu assisti ao filme no cinema.

I watched the movie in the cinema.

começar a

to start to

Nós começamos a estudar português.

We started to learn Portuguese.

dedicar-se a

to dedicate oneself to

Ela se dedica ao trabalho voluntário.

She dedicates herself to volunteer work.

destinar a

to dedicate to

Este programa destina-se às mulheres.

This program is dedicated to women.

negar-se a

to refuse to

Eles se negaram a sair da sala.

They refused to leave the room.

opor-se a

to oppose

Os funcionários se opuseram às ordens.

The employees opposed the orders.

tender a

to tend to

A vida deles tende a melhorar.

Their lives tend to get better.

aspirar a

to aspire, to aim

Todos aspirar a sermos felizes.

We all aspire to be happy.

Others:

  • advertir a(to warn)

  • agradar a(to please)

  • agradecer a(to thank)

  • avisar a(to warn)

  • chegar a(to arrive at)

  • comparecer a(to attend)

  • comunicar a(to communicate)

  • desagradar a(to displease)

  • emprestar a(to lend to)

  • ir a(to go to)

  • obedecer a(to obey)

  • pagar a(to pay)

  • pedir a(to ask for)

  • perdoar a(to forgive)

  • preferir a(to prefer)

  • prevenir a(to prevent)

  • proceder a(to proceed)

  • querer a(to want)

  • responder a(to respond to)

  • senta a(to sit at)

  • suceder a(to succeed at)

  • visar a(to aim at)

  • voltar a(to return to)

Verbs followed by ‘com’

This table illustrates the meanings of verbs combined with the preposition com(with) in Brazilian Portuguese.

Verb
Example

concordar com

to agree with

Ele concorda com você.

He agrees with you.

contar com

to count on

Ele conta com a sua amizade.

He counts on your friendship.

conversar com

to talk to

Você ainda conversa com a Selma?

Do you still talk to Selma?

parecer com

to look like

Você se parece com a sua irmã.

You look like your sister.

preocupar-se com

to worry about

Os pais se preocupam com os filhos.

Parents worry about their children.

sonhar com

to dream with

Hoje eu sonhei com você.

Today I dreamed with you.

implicar com

to provoke, to tease

Maria sempre implica com a Joana.

Maria always teases Joana.

Others:

  • empatar com(to tie with)

  • mexer com(to mess with)

  • namorar com(to date)

  • simpatizar com(to sympathize with)

Verbs followed by ‘de’

This table illustrates the meanings of verbs combined with the preposition de(of, from) in Brazilian Portuguese.

Verb
Example

acabar de

to have just

Nós acabamos de chegar em casa.

We have just arrived at home.

defender-se de

to defend oneself

Eles aprenderam a se defender na floresta.

They learned to defend themselves in the forest.

depender de

to depend on

João não depende de ônibus para ir ao trabalho.

João does not depend on a bus to go to work.

discordar de

to disagree with

Desculpe, mas nós discordamos de vocês.

Sorry, but we disagree with you.

esquecer de

to forget to

Eu esqueci de levar o guarda-chuva.

I forgot to take the umbrella.

gostar de

to like

Eles gostam de conversar sobre literatura.

They like to talk about literature.

lembrar-se de

to remember

Você se lembrou de comprar café?

Did you remember to buy coffee?

precisar de

to need

Vocês precisam de alguma coisa?

Do you need anything?

proteger-se de

to protect oneself from

Ana se protegeu da chuva.

Ana protected herself from the rain.

reclamar de

to complain about

João sempre reclama do barulho na sala.

João always complains about the noise in the room.

ser capaz de

to be able to

Luana é capaz de caminhar sozinha.

Luana is able to walk by herself.

terminar de

to finish

Você já terminou de almoçar?

Have you finished having lunch?

Others:

  • avisar de(to warn)

  • chegar de(to arrive from)

  • desdenhar de(to disdain to)

  • emprestar de(to borrow from)

  • impedir de(to prevent)

  • informar de(to inform of)

  • ir de(to go from)

  • lembrar de(to remember)

  • mexer de(to mess with)

  • necessitar de(to need)

  • precisar de(to need)

  • usufruir de(to enjoy)

  • voltar de(to return from)

Verbs followed by ‘em’

This table illustrates the meanings of verbs combined with the preposition em(in) in Brazilian Portuguese.

Verb
Example

acreditar em

to believe in

As crianças acreditam em Papai Noel.

Children believe in Santa Claus.

confiar em

to trust in

Eles confiam nos amigos.

They trust their friends.

morar em

to live in

Você mora em São Paulo?

Do you live in São Paulo?

ser bom em

to be good at

Eles são bons em comunicação.

They are good at communication.

ser viciado em

to be addicted to

Pati é viciada em séries.

Pati is addicted to a series.

Others:

  • assistir em(to assist)

  • comparecer em(to attend)

  • empatar em(to tie for)

  • ingressar em(to join)

  • mexer em(to mess with)

  • residir em(to reside in)

  • senta em(to sit in)

Verbs that are NOT followed by a preposition in Brazilian Portuguese

The following verbs are not followed by prepositions in Brazilian Portuguese, even though they are in English.

Verb
Example

conseguir

to be able to / to succeed / can

Eu não consegui falar com a Cristina hoje.

I did not manage to talk to Cristina today.

dever

*must

Ele deve te ligar hoje.

He must call you today.

precisar

to need

Você precisa dormir.

You need to sleep.

preferir

to believe in

Eu prefiro esperar aqui.

I prefer to wait here.

pretender

to intend

Juliana pretende mudar de país no próximo ano.

Juliana intends to move to another country next year.

querer

to want

Eu quero falar com a Priscila.

I want to talk to Priscila.

tentar

to try

Eles tentaram falar com você?

Did they try to talk to you?

*Notice that both the Brazilian Portuguese verb dever and the English equivalent “must” do not require a preposition.

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