A huge number of everyday Brazilian adverbial meanings — again, suddenly, for free, by heart, on purpose, by chance, in vain — are locked into fixed preposition + noun chunks. In de novo ("again"), de cor ("by heart"), à toa ("aimlessly"), the preposition is non-negotiable: you cannot reason your way to it, and swapping it (por novo, de toa) simply breaks the phrase. These are not constructions you build; they are whole units you memorize. This page groups the most frequent ones by their fixed preposition.
Chunks with de
The preposition de heads the largest family of fixed adverbial phrases — many of them among the most common words in spoken Brazilian.
| Chunk | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| de novo | again | NOT *por novo / *outra vez is a synonym |
| de repente | suddenly (also: maybe, informally) | NOT *em repente |
| de propósito | on purpose | opposite of "sem querer" |
| de cor | by heart / from memory | "saber de cor" |
| de graça | for free | NOT *por graça |
| de vez em quando | once in a while | frequency adverbial |
| de novo e de novo | again and again | doubling for emphasis |
Não acredito que você esqueceu de novo!
I can't believe you forgot again! (informal)
De repente começou a chover e a gente correu pra dentro.
Suddenly it started raining and we ran inside. (informal)
Juro que não foi de propósito, foi sem querer.
I swear it wasn't on purpose, it was an accident. (informal)
Ela sabe a letra inteira da música de cor.
She knows the whole song lyrics by heart.
O show foi de graça, nem acreditei.
The show was free, I couldn't even believe it. (informal)
Chunks with a / à
With a (and its contraction à = a + a), the crase accent matters: à toa and à vontade carry the grave accent because they front a feminine noun. Getting the accent wrong is an orthographic error.
| Chunk | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| a pé | on foot | no accent (masculine "pé") |
| à toa | aimlessly / for nothing / idle | crase: à |
| à vontade | at ease / comfortable / freely | crase: à |
| ao vivo | live (broadcast) | ao = a + o |
| à mão | by hand / at hand | crase: à |
| às vezes | sometimes | crase + plural |
Como é pertinho, a gente foi a pé mesmo.
Since it's close by, we just went on foot. (informal)
Fica à vontade, a casa é sua.
Make yourself at home, my house is your house. (informal)
Passei o dia todo à toa, sem fazer nada.
I spent the whole day idle, doing nothing. (informal)
O jogo vai passar ao vivo na TV hoje à noite.
The game will be broadcast live on TV tonight.
Chunks with em
| Chunk | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| em geral | in general / generally | NOT *de geral |
| em casa | at home | no article: NOT *na casa for "at home" |
| em vão | in vain | "tudo em vão" |
| em frente | straight ahead / in front | directions |
| em ponto | on the dot (time) | "às três em ponto" |
Em geral eu acordo cedo, mas hoje dormi até tarde.
In general I wake up early, but today I slept in. (informal)
Fiquei em casa o fim de semana inteiro descansando.
I stayed home the whole weekend resting.
Tentei de tudo, mas foi tudo em vão.
I tried everything, but it was all in vain.
Chunks with por
| Chunk | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| por acaso | by chance / by any chance | NOT *de acaso |
| por fim | finally / at last | discourse marker |
| por enquanto | for now / for the time being | NOT *por agora |
| por sinal | by the way / as a matter of fact | discourse marker |
| por isso | that's why / therefore | extremely common connector |
Você não viu meu celular por acaso?
You didn't happen to see my phone, did you? (informal)
Por enquanto tá tudo bem, depois a gente vê.
For now everything's fine, we'll see later. (informal)
Tava cansado, por isso fui dormir cedo.
I was tired, that's why I went to bed early. (informal)
Chunks with com
The com ("with") family forms manner adverbials, equivalent to English "-ly" adverbs.
| Chunk | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| com calma | calmly / take it easy | "Vai com calma." |
| com cuidado | carefully | = cuidadosamente |
| com certeza | certainly / for sure | strong agreement |
| com jeito | gently / tactfully | informal, very Brazilian |
Vai com calma, não precisa correr.
Take it easy, there's no need to rush. (informal)
Com certeza! Pode contar comigo.
For sure! You can count on me. (informal)
Abre a caixa com cuidado que tem vidro dentro.
Open the box carefully, there's glass inside. (informal)
Common Mistakes
❌ Desculpa, fiz isso por novo sem querer.
Incorrect — 'again' is 'de novo', never 'por novo'; the preposition is fixed.
✅ Desculpa, fiz isso de novo sem querer.
Sorry, I did it again by accident.
❌ Esse aplicativo é por graça.
Incorrect — 'for free' is 'de graça', not 'por graça'.
✅ Esse aplicativo é de graça.
This app is free.
❌ Fica a vontade, viu?
Incorrect — missing the crase accent; it must be 'à vontade'.
✅ Fica à vontade, viu?
Make yourself at home, okay? (informal)
❌ Por agora tá tudo certo.
Incorrect — 'for now' is 'por enquanto'; 'por agora' is not the standard chunk.
✅ Por enquanto tá tudo certo.
For now everything's fine. (informal)
❌ Você sabe esse poema de cabeça?
Acceptable informally, but the fixed chunk for 'by heart' is 'de cor' — 'de cabeça' is colloquial for mental calculation.
✅ Você sabe esse poema de cor?
Do you know this poem by heart?
Key Takeaways
- Countless adverbial meanings are fixed preposition + noun chunks: de novo (again), de repente (suddenly), de cor (by heart), de graça (for free), à toa (aimlessly), à vontade (at ease), por acaso (by chance), em vão (in vain).
- The preposition is non-negotiable — swapping it (por novo, de toa, por agora) breaks the phrase.
- With a-chunks, crase matters orthographically: à toa, à vontade, às vezes.
- em casa drops the article; de repente doubles as colloquial "maybe."
- Memorize each chunk whole, as if it were a single word — do not build it from parts.
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