Contractions: preposition + article/pronoun

What it is

In Portuguese, four short prepositions, de (of, from), em (in, on, at), a (to, at) and por (through, by, for), fuse with the article that follows them. Em + o centro becomes no centro, de + a praia becomes da praia. This isn’t casual speech: the fused forms are the only correct ones, in speech and in writing.

They are among the most frequent words of the language. You will see no, na, do, da in almost every sentence.

How to form it

• a + a = à and a + as = às are written with a grave accent (the crase). It is the only use of that accent: às oito, à noite, Vou à farmácia.
• With the indefinite article, em usually fuses: num, numa (in a). Em um, em uma are also correct, especially in writing. De um normally stays apart.

• dele, dela, deles, delas (de + pronoun) mean his, her, their: o carro dele = his car.
• nisso, disso, naquele, daquele are em/de + a demonstrative: Não penso nisso.

When to use it

Every time one of these prepositions meets an article or one of these pronouns:

• Moro no centro, perto do mercado.I live in the city centre, near the market.em + o, de + o
• A aula começa às oito.Class starts at eight.a + as
• O ônibus passa pelo centro.The bus goes through the city centre.por + o
• O nome dele é Thor.His name is Thor.de + ele
• Ela trabalha numa escola.She works at a school.em + uma

Contrasts and traps

• No article, no contraction. Portugal and most cities have no article, so: em Portugal, em Salvador, but no Brasil, na Bahia, no Rio.
• à only fuses with a feminine article: Vou à farmácia but Vou ao banco. Before a masculine noun there is no à.
• às uma ✗ → à uma (one o’clock is singular).
• no and na look like “no”, but here they mean “in the”: Moro no centro = I live in the city centre.
• pelo, pela also follow verbs of thanks and movement: Obrigado pela ajuda, passo pela praia.
• você never fuses: penso em você, um presente para você.
• In speech, para shrinks too: pra (para / para a), pro (para o). You’ll learn them with prepositions of place.
• Careful writing keeps de apart from the subject of an infinitive: antes de o filme começar. In speech everyone says antes do filme começar.

If you speak Spanish

Spanish only has al and del, and neither exists in Portuguese: say ao and do. Everything else you keep apart in Spanish fuses here: en el → no, en la → na, de la → da, por el → pelo, a la → à, de él → dele, en eso → nisso. Train your eye to read no and na as “en el, en la”: no is not a negation here.