Prepositions

Prepositions are small words or phrases that usually follow a verb, relate to a noun and indicate the position of the noun in space or time. Prepositions can consist of a single word, in which case they are ‘simple’, or more than one word, in which case they are ‘complex’. Here are some examples:

Correct use of prepositions is just one of those things you have to learn through experience. There are places where prepositions are required in Portuguese where they wouldn’t be in English, and vice-versa. As you begin to become familiar with whole phrases, you will get a feel for how prepositions work in Portuguese, and will begin to use them correctly almost sub-consciously.

To get you started though, here are some examples of phrases which require a preposition in Portuguese that is different to that used (if any) in English:

Puritans of English grammar often say that a sentence should not end with a preposition, because this was the case with Latin. These days though, it is generally accepted that this rule does not apply to English, because to follow it requires some verbal gymnastics – for example, whereas we find it quite natural to say ‘he knew what I was talking about’ (which ends with a preposition), if you wanted to phrase that without ending with a preposition, you end up with ‘he knew about what I was talking’.

Sir Winston Churchill is often credited with saying ‘to say that a sentence should not end with a preposition is blatant pedantry, up with which I shall not put!’ – as an ironic example of how ridiculous this rule is when applied to English.

However, as Portuguese is much more closely related to Latin than English, I'm afraid this rule does apply to Portuguese. This means learning the gymnastics of rewording your sentences so that they do not end with a preposition. Sorry about that.

Although incorrect use of prepositions will make you sound ‘foreign’ to a Portuguese speaker, you will still generally be understood, so don't worry about them too much.