The preposition a is small, common, and carries one of the few rules in Portuguese that exists only on the page: crase. When a meets a feminine article a, the two collapse into a single à with a grave accent — a + a = à — and this accent has no sound at all. À praia and a praia are pronounced identically; only the writing tells them apart. On top of that, Brazilian speech often dodges a entirely, swapping in em or para for destinations. This page sorts out the written rule and the spoken reality.
Direction and destination: going to a place
The first job of a is to point toward a destination — "to" a place.
Amanhã eu vou a São Paulo a trabalho.
Tomorrow I'm going to São Paulo for work.
Eles foram ao cinema e depois a um bar.
They went to the cinema and then to a bar. (a + o = ao)
There is a subtle nuance native speakers feel: a suggests a shorter or round-trip visit, while para suggests going to stay. Vou a São Paulo (a quick trip) versus vou para São Paulo (I'm moving / going for a long while). In practice, though, Brazilian speech leans heavily on para and even em for destinations, as we'll see at the end.
Indirect object: giving something to someone
When you give, send, say, or tell something to a person, that person is the indirect object, introduced by a.
Eu dei o livro a ela ontem.
I gave the book to her yesterday.
Mandei um e-mail ao meu chefe de manhã.
I sent an email to my boss in the morning. (a + o = ao)
O guia explicou tudo aos turistas com calma.
The guide calmly explained everything to the tourists. (a + os = aos)
In casual Brazilian speech the indirect object is very often expressed with pra instead (dei o livro pra ela), but a is the standard, fuller form and the one you'll see in writing.
Time: telling the clock
Clock times take a — and because hora(s) is feminine, this is where crase shows up constantly.
A reunião começa às oito em ponto.
The meeting starts at eight on the dot. (a + as = às)
A gente almoça ao meio-dia, todo dia.
We have lunch at noon, every day. (a + o meio-dia = ao meio-dia)
So you say à uma hora (a + a uma = à uma) for "at one o'clock" but às duas, às três, às oito for the plural hours. And "at noon" is ao meio-dia (masculine, hence ao), while "at midnight" is à meia-noite (feminine, hence à).
The contractions of a
| a + | contraction | example |
|---|---|---|
| o | ao | vou ao banco |
| a | à (crase) | vou à feira |
| os | aos | aos domingos |
| as | às | às oito horas |
| aquele / aquela | àquele / àquela | vou àquela loja |
| aquilo | àquilo | me refiro àquilo |
Note that a does not contract with personal pronouns the way de and em do — there is no "à-ele." You say a ela, a eles (or, in speech, pra ela).
Crase, fully explained
Crase is just the fusion a + a = à, but it confuses everyone — including Brazilians — because the accent makes no sound. Here is the rule, stated plainly: you write à when you have the preposition a meeting a feminine word that takes the feminine article a.
The reliable test: mentally swap the feminine destination for a masculine one. If the masculine version comes out as ao, then the feminine version must be à with the accent. If it comes out as plain a, no crase.
Vou à praia. / Vou ao parque.
I'm going to the beach. / I'm going to the park. (praia → ao parque test gives ao, so à praia)
Cheguei à escola atrasada.
I arrived at school late. (cheguei ao colégio → ao, so à escola)
When there is no article — for instance, with most personal names, with cities that take no article, and before verbs — there is no second a to merge with, so there is no crase.
Comecei a estudar português esse ano.
I started studying Portuguese this year. (a + verb, no article, no crase)
Vou a Salvador no feriado.
I'm going to Salvador over the holiday. (Salvador takes no article, so plain a)
There is also crase before aquele/aquela/aquilo, giving àquele, àquela, àquilo — the preposition a fusing with the demonstrative's initial a.
Me refiro àquilo que você falou ontem.
I'm referring to that thing you said yesterday. (a + aquilo = àquilo)
Verbs that take a
A handful of verbs require a before their object. The classic example for learners is assistir a meaning "to watch" (a movie, a game). In careful/standard Portuguese, assistir + entertainment takes a; in casual speech many Brazilians drop it and treat assistir as a direct-object verb.
| Verb + a | Meaning | Register note |
|---|---|---|
| assistir a | to watch | standard; a often dropped in speech |
| obedecer a | to obey | standard |
| responder a | to answer / respond to | standard |
| referir-se a | to refer to | formal |
Ontem eu assisti a um filme ótimo.
Yesterday I watched a great movie. (standard: assistir a)
The Brazilian-speech reality: a → em / para
Here is the honest part. Although a is the standard preposition of destination, Brazilian colloquial speech very often replaces it. For "I'm going to the beach," a textbook says vou à praia, but a Brazilian on the street is just as likely to say vou na praia or vou pra praia.
Vou na praia agora, vem comigo?
I'm going to the beach now, want to come with me? (colloquial: na for à)
Ela foi no médico hoje de manhã.
She went to the doctor this morning. (colloquial: no for ao)
This ir em construction is widespread and natural in informal Brazil, but it is stigmatized in formal writing — graders, editors, and exams expect a/ao/à or para. Recognize vou na praia when you hear it; write vou à praia when it counts.
Common Mistakes
❌ Vou a o banco depois do almoço.
Incorrect — a + o must contract to ao.
✅ Vou ao banco depois do almoço.
I'm going to the bank after lunch.
❌ A reunião é a as oito.
Incorrect — a + as must contract to às.
✅ A reunião é às oito.
The meeting is at eight.
❌ Comecei à estudar português.
Incorrect — no article follows, so no crase; just a before the verb.
✅ Comecei a estudar português.
I started studying Portuguese.
❌ Dei o presente a o meu pai.
Incorrect — a + o must contract to ao.
✅ Dei o presente ao meu pai.
I gave the present to my father.
❌ Vou à Salvador no feriado.
Incorrect — Salvador takes no article, so there's nothing to merge; no crase.
✅ Vou a Salvador no feriado.
I'm going to Salvador over the holiday.
Key Takeaways
- A marks destination, the indirect object ("to someone"), and clock time.
- It contracts to ao, aos, às — and to à when it meets the feminine article a (crase).
- Crase is a written-only rule: use the masculine-swap test — if "to the [masc.]" is ao, the feminine is à.
- No crase before verbs, before article-less names/cities, or before personal pronouns (a ela, not àela).
- In casual speech Brazilians often replace a/ao/à with em (vou na praia) or para (vou pra praia) — fine spoken, avoided in formal writing.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Prepositions: OverviewA1 — A map of the Brazilian Portuguese preposition system, the obligatory contractions with articles and pronouns, and why prepositions almost never map one-to-one to English.
- Preposition 'Para': For, To, TowardA1 — How 'para' marks purpose, destination, recipient, deadline, and opinion in Brazilian Portuguese — its near-universal spoken reduction to pra/pro and a preview of para vs por.
- Preposition 'Em': In, On, AtA1 — How 'em' collapses English in/on/at into a single preposition for location and time — its obligatory contractions (no, na, nele, nisso) and the verbs that take it.
- Contractions with 'A' (The Crase)A2 — The 'a' contractions (ao, aos) and the crase (à) in Brazilian Portuguese — what the accent really means, the reliable substitution test, when crase is required, and the most common crase errors.
- A vs Para: Decision GuideA2 — When to use a versus para for destination and indirect objects — and why Brazilian speech has largely collapsed the prescriptive distinction in favor of para (and even em).
- Para Ele / Para Ela: Prepositional Indirect ObjectA2 — The dominant Brazilian way to express a recipient: 'para + tonic pronoun' (para mim, para você, para ele) — colloquially 'pra' — which sidesteps the fading clitic 'lhe'.