PREPOSITIONS
at – “em, perto de” - We use “at” to indicate a certain place. We also use it to tell the time
and with “noon – night – midnight”.
I met him at school.
I will see you at three o’clock.
We have lunch at noon.
At night we go to school.
He sits at this table.
At the moment – At that time – At present.
off – “fora” – It is the contrary of “on”
I put the books on the table and he took them off.
At night I take off my clothes.
The button fell off the shirt.
Take off your coat and hat.
of – “de” – We use of to express possesion or a part of something.
The windows of the room were open.
Teach me the names of the months.
Some of them are Brazilians.
Of the two, I like the red one.
He bought a kilo of coffee.
in – “em, dentro de”
“in” – means inside of something. We also use it for months, seasons, years and parts of
the day.
He lives in a big city.
We live in Brazil.
I sit in this chair.
We work in the morning and study at night.
I go on vacation in the summer.
She was born in October.
He was born in 1985.
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on – “em, em cima de, sobre”
“on” – is used to express contact with something, also for the days of the week or
month.
Christmas is on the 25th of December.
We have classes on Monday and Wednesday.
The picture is on the wall.
The child is sitting on the floor.
Our school is on Baker Street.
She lives on the 4th floor.
out of – “fora de”
Expresses motion from inside a place. It is the contrary of “into”.
I saw him come out of the house.
Take the car out of the garage.
He took the money out of his pocket.
Help me get out of the car.
to – “para, em direção, até”
“to” is the opposite of “from”. It expresses a motion to a certain direction, mostly used
with a verb.
They went to Rio.
I go to school every day.
She wrote a letter to her friend.
I will give this apple to him.
He went from Chicago to New York.
into – “dentro, adentro, para dentro”
It is the opposite of “out of”. It expresses motion into a place or object.
He went into the room.
She put the flowers into the vase.
Please get into the car.
She poured the wine into the glas.
from – “de, desde”
It is the contrary of “to”. It expresses motion from a place or direction.
He comes from the United States.
They went home from school.
We received a letter from Mr. Jackson.
Wine comes from grapes.
I work from Monday to Friday.
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through – “através, por, mediante”
It expresses motion through a place or object.
Tom drove through the forest.
We walked through the city.
I heard the news through him.
The bullet went through his arm.
I saw her through the window.
up – “para cima, acima”
“up”is the opposite of “down”
Mary went up the stairs.
They drove up to the mountains.
Move the picture up.
He is up in the tower.
The elevator is going up.
upon – “sobre, em cima, por sobre”
It is usually used in the same sense as “on”.
He sat upon the wall.
She put her bag upon the table.
Suddendly, the enemy came upon us.
down – “para baixo”
It is the contrary of “up”
He went down the hill.
Mary came down the stairs.
The elevator is going down.
across – “através de, do outro lado de”
He lives across the street from me.
His office is across the room.
There is a store across the street.
against – “contra”
The ladder is against the wall.
Corinthians played against São Paulo.
I am against your idea.
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toward or towards – “para, em direção de, por volta de”
He was walking towards his car.
Towards 8 o’clock they usually have dinner.
He was always pleasant towards me.
Let’s drive towards the lake.
along – “ao longo de, junto”
They walked along the beach.
I like to drive along this highway.
Bring your friend along with you.
I am going to take along some water.
about – “a respeito de, cerca de, sobre”
They were talking about the game.
It was about 12 o’clock when he arrived.
I had about $350,00 to spend.
around – “ao redor de, em torno de”
They were sitting around the table.
The children ran around the house.
Lunch is around mid-day.
during - “durante”
During the night the lake froze.
It rains a lot during the month of May.
I woke up three times during the night.
until – “até – referring to time”
I waited for her until 2:30.
I won’t leave until it stops raining.
They work from morning until night.
over – “sobre, diretamente acima, mais de”
It is the opposite of “under”
The plane flew over our house.
He is over fifty years old.
Put the blanked over the baby.
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above – “acima de, por cima de”
It means higher than. It is the opposite of “below”.
The picture is above the window on the left.
It is above 30°C this morning.
Look at all the stars above us.
under – “sob, debaixo de, em baixo de”
It means directly under a certain point. The opposite of “over”.
Put your feet under the table.
My shoes are under the bed.
The beat is under the bridge.
below – “debaixo, por baixo de”
It means lower than a certain point. The opposite of “above”.
In Holland many places are below the sea.
The temperature is below 15°C.
There is a hole below the window.
beside – “ao lado de, junto a”
Tom is sitting beside Mary.
The lamp is beside the sofa.
My car is beside yours.
besides – “além de, com exceção de”
Besides Portuguese he speaks English.
Besides being pretty, she is also clever.
I can go any day besides Saturday.
Other common prepositions and phrases:
after –depois de
before – antes de
in front of – em frente de
behind – atrás de
next to – ao lado de, junto a
between – entre duas (pessoas/ coisas)
among – entre + de duas coisas
near – perto de, ao lado de
far from – longe de
with – com
since – desde
by – por, perto de, até
for – para, durante, por