Verbs with Required Prepositions

Many Brazilian Portuguese verbs demand a specific preposition before their object — and the preposition is not optional or freely chosen. Gostar always takes de, assistir (to watch) takes a, pensar takes em, contar (to count on) takes com, lutar takes por. Get the preposition wrong and the sentence is wrong, even if every other word is perfect. This page catalogs the most important pairs, grouped by preposition, and tells you honestly which ones colloquial speech is loosening.

The good news for learners: Brazilian verb–preposition pairs are remarkably stable. Once you know that gostar takes de, it takes de in every tense, every register, forever. The bad news: there is no rule that predicts the preposition. You memorize them in groups — and grouping by preposition, as below, is the most efficient way to do it.

Verbs that take DE

This is the largest and most important group. The preposition often contracts with a following article (de + o = do, de + a = da, de + ele = dele).

Note that lembrar and esquecer have two patterns: the pronominal lembrar-se de / esquecer-se de (more formal, always with de), and the bare lembrar / esquecer without a pronoun and without de (colloquial: esqueci a chave = "I forgot the key"). Both are common; the de is obligatory only with the pronominal form.

Verbs that take A

Here is where colloquial Brazilian speech and the prescriptive standard diverge most sharply. Verbs of "directing toward" a goal — assistir (to watch), obedecer, responder — formally require a, but everyday speech often drops it or replaces it.

In casual speech, assistir is constantly used without a, as a plain transitive verb: assisti o jogo, assisti um filme. This is so widespread that it sounds completely normal — but in writing, exams, and formal contexts, the prescriptive assistir a is still required.

Verbs that take EM

The preposition em contracts with articles: em + o = no, em + a = na. Several high-frequency mental and physical verbs live here.

Note the contrast with English: think about → pensar em (not de), believe in → acreditar em (matches English), insist on → insistir em (English uses on). The mismatches are exactly where mistakes happen.

Verbs that take COM

Com (with) attaches to verbs of accompaniment, reliance, and interaction.

Two of these are notorious English-transfer traps. Casar-se com uses com, not de, where English says "marry someone" with no preposition at all — and certainly never "marry with." And sonhar com uses com where English uses about: sonhei com você = "I dreamed about you."

Verbs that take POR

Por contracts: por + o = pelo, por + a = pela. It attaches to verbs of struggle, choice, and waiting.

Note that esperar has a split: esperar por algo emphasizes the waiting ("wait for"), while plain transitive esperar algo can mean "to expect" (espero boas notícias = "I expect good news"). And interessar-se por / apaixonar-se por use por where English uses in and with — again, never translate the preposition.

Prescriptive vs. colloquial: the honest picture

Brazilian speech is loosening some of these prepositions, especially a. In casual conversation you will constantly hear:

• assisti o jogo instead of assisti ao jogo
• cheguei em casa (covered on the verbs-of-motion page) instead of the prescriptive cheguei a casa
• direct objects where the standard wants a

This is genuine, native, everyday Brazilian. But the written standard — newspapers, exams, formal letters, the vestibular — still demands the prescriptive prepositions. The practical rule: speak the way Brazilians around you speak, but write the prescriptive form. When you are unsure which you are doing, default to the prescriptive pairing, because it is never wrong — only sometimes a touch formal.

Common Mistakes

The deep cause of every one of these errors is the same: English speakers translate the English preposition. Think about becomes the wrong pensar de; count on becomes the wrong contar em; marry drags in a stray with. The cure is not a rule — it is treating each verb + preposition as one indivisible word. For the complete reference, see the verb–preposition list.