Compound Prepositions | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

A handful of one-word prepositions (em, de, a, com) carry the everyday load of Portuguese, but they are blunt instruments. To say something precise — near, behind, on top of, across from, instead of — Brazilian Portuguese reaches for compound prepositions: fixed phrases of two or three words that end in de or a. These are the real backbone of describing where things are and how they relate. The single most important fact about them is that the final de or a is a live preposition that contracts with the article that follows — perto de + o mercado becomes perto *do mercado, *em cima de + a mesa becomes em cima *da mesa*. Master that one habit and these phrases become automatic.

What a compound preposition is

A compound preposition is a frozen multi-word unit that behaves as a single preposition. English has the same thing — in front of, on top of, next to, because of — so the concept will feel familiar. The trap for English speakers is not the idea but the contraction at the end.

O caixa eletrônico fica em frente ao banco.

The ATM is across from the bank. (a + o = ao)

Deixei as chaves em cima da geladeira.

I left the keys on top of the fridge. (de + a = da)

Notice that English keeps of and to fully separate from the article (on top of the fridge), but Portuguese fuses them: em cima *da geladeira, em frente **ao banco*. Skipping the contraction is the number-one error here.

The two families: -de phrases and -a phrases

Almost every compound preposition ends in either de or a. That ending tells you exactly how it contracts.

Ends in de	Meaning	Ends in a	Meaning
perto de	near	em frente a	in front of / across from
longe de	far from	junto a	next to, close to (formal)
dentro de	inside	devido a	due to, because of
fora de	outside of	quanto a	as for, regarding
em cima de	on top of	graças a	thanks to
embaixo de / debaixo de	underneath	face a	faced with (formal)
ao lado de	beside, next to	rente a	flush against (literary)
atrás de	behind
através de	through, by means of
além de	besides, beyond
apesar de	despite, in spite of
antes de	before
depois de	after
a respeito de	regarding, about
em vez de / ao invés de	instead of
por causa de	because of

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The ending is your contraction cheat sheet. A phrase ending in de gives you do, da, dos, das (and dele, dela, disso, daqui). A phrase ending in a gives you ao, à, aos, às. There is no third pattern to learn.

The -de phrases in action

These are overwhelmingly the spatial ones — the words you use to say where something sits relative to something else. The final de contracts exactly the way de always does.

O cachorro tá dormindo embaixo da mesa de novo.

The dog is sleeping under the table again. (informal: tá = está; de + a = da)

A farmácia fica logo atrás do shopping.

The pharmacy is right behind the mall. (de + o = do)

Mora todo mundo dentro de casa nesse frio.

Everyone's staying inside in this cold.

Note the last example: dentro de casa with no article, because casa used generically (one's own home) drops the article — the same reason we say em casa (at home). Compare dentro da casa do vizinho (inside the neighbor's house), where the article returns and de contracts.

Sentei ao lado dela no ônibus.

I sat next to her on the bus. (de + ela = dela)

Cheguei perto daquele prédio antigo e fiquei admirando.

I got close to that old building and stood there admiring it. (de + aquele = daquele)

The -a phrases and their accent

The -a family contracts with the masculine article o to give ao, and with the feminine a to give the accented à (the crase, written with a grave accent). Getting that accent right matters — it is the written signal that a contraction happened.

Em frente à escola tem um parquinho ótimo.

Across from the school there's a great little playground. (a + a = à)

O voo atrasou devido ao mau tempo.

The flight was delayed due to bad weather. (a + o = ao)

Graças aos vizinhos, ninguém ficou sem água.

Thanks to the neighbors, nobody went without water. (a + os = aos)

apesar de: despite — and what comes after it

Apesar de (in spite of, despite) deserves its own note because of a structural trap. It takes a noun or an infinitive, never a finite que-clause on its own. To express "despite the fact that...," Portuguese switches to apesar de + infinitive, or to the conjunction embora + subjunctive.

Apesar do calor, a gente foi correr no parque.

Despite the heat, we went running in the park. (de + o = do)

Apesar de estar cansado, ele terminou o relatório.

Despite being tired, he finished the report. (apesar de + infinitive)

English lets you say "despite the fact that he was tired." Portuguese does not allow apesar de que ele estava cansado in careful usage — you either nominalize (apesar do cansaço), use the personal infinitive (apesar de ele estar cansado), or switch to embora ele estivesse cansado (subjunctive).

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When a compound preposition needs a verb after it, use the infinitive, not a conjugated tense: antes de sair (before leaving), depois de comer (after eating), além de trabalhar (besides working). Portuguese can even mark the infinitive for person — antes de saírmos (before we leave) — which English cannot.

Non-spatial compound prepositions

Several compounds are purely relational or logical rather than spatial. They behave identically with contraction but translate to English connectors.

Além do salário, ela recebe vale-refeição.

Besides the salary, she gets a meal allowance. (de + o = do)

Em vez de reclamar, faz alguma coisa.

Instead of complaining, do something.

Conseguimos a vaga através de um amigo em comum.

We got the spot through a mutual friend.

A respeito do projeto, falamos amanhã.

As for the project, we'll talk tomorrow. (de + o = do)

em vez de vs. ao invés de

Prescriptively these split: em vez de = "instead of" (substitution), ao invés de = "as opposed to / contrary to" (true opposition). In everyday Brazilian speech the two are used interchangeably for "instead of," and you will hear ao invez de constantly meaning simple substitution. Recognize the prescriptive distinction, but don't expect natives to honor it.

Ele entrou ao invés de sair.

He went in instead of going out. (true opposition — the textbook use of ao invés de)

Common Mistakes

❌ Os livros estão em cima de a mesa.

Incorrect — de + a must contract to da.

✅ Os livros estão em cima da mesa.

The books are on top of the table.

❌ A loja fica em frente a o cinema.

Incorrect — a + o must contract to ao.

✅ A loja fica em frente ao cinema.

The store is across from the movie theater.

❌ Apesar de que estava chovendo, saímos.

Incorrect — apesar de doesn't take a finite que-clause.

✅ Apesar de estar chovendo, saímos.

Despite it raining, we went out.

❌ Antes de eu saí, apaguei a luz.

Incorrect — a compound preposition takes the infinitive, not a past tense.

✅ Antes de eu sair, apaguei a luz.

Before I left, I turned off the light.

❌ O gato está embaixo a cama.

Incorrect — embaixo de loses its de here, dropping the preposition entirely.

✅ O gato está embaixo da cama.

The cat is under the bed.

Key Takeaways

Most spatial and relational meaning in Brazilian Portuguese is built from compound prepositions ending in de or a.
The ending dictates the contraction: -de gives do/da/dos/das; -a gives ao/à/aos/às.
Never strand the final de or a in front of an article — always contract.
Apesar de takes a noun or infinitive, never a bare que-clause.
A verb after any of these phrases goes in the infinitive: antes de sair, além de trabalhar.

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