Prepositions are the grammar category that punishes learners hardest, because they don't follow a clean logic — they follow convention. Why does Portuguese say gostar de and casar com but pensar em? Because that's what Portuguese does. The only cure is patient exposure plus a catalogue of the high-frequency errors that English and Spanish speakers reliably make. This page collects the ten or so patterns that account for the vast majority of preposition mistakes in European Portuguese, organised by whether the error comes from English transfer, Spanish transfer, Brazilian-Portuguese influence, or missing contractions.
Motion: ir a vs ir para vs ir em
The biggest motion-preposition error is using em with ir — this is Brazilian-influenced and is unambiguously wrong in EP. Ir takes a (for short visits, specific destinations) or para (for longer stays, commitments, moves).
❌ Vou em Lisboa no fim de semana.
Incorrect in EP — 'ir em' is BR/colloquial; EP speakers hear it as jarring.
✅ Vou a Lisboa no fim de semana.
I'm going to Lisbon this weekend. (short visit)
✅ Vou para Lisboa no próximo mês — mudo de casa.
I'm going to (moving to) Lisbon next month — I'm relocating.
The core distinction: a = destination with implied return; para = destination with implied commitment or longer stay.
✅ Fui ao cinema e voltei para casa.
I went to the cinema and came back home. (short visit — 'a')
✅ Emigrei para a Alemanha em 2018.
I emigrated to Germany in 2018. (commitment — 'para')
Chegar takes a, never em
Chegar a = "to arrive at / in" in EP. Many Brazilian speakers say chegar em — this sounds wrong in Portugal.
❌ Cheguei em casa às oito.
Incorrect in EP — 'chegar em' is BR.
✅ Cheguei a casa às oito.
I got home at eight.
❌ O comboio chegou em Lisboa atrasado.
Incorrect in EP.
✅ O comboio chegou a Lisboa atrasado.
The train arrived in Lisbon late.
Note that casa in the sense of "home" (one's own home) takes no article: estou em casa, vou para casa, cheguei a casa. Adding an article forces the meaning "the house" (a specific building): cheguei à casa do João = "I arrived at João's house."
Morar em and viver em
To live in a place takes em (with the appropriate contraction).
❌ Moro a Lisboa.
Incorrect — no Portuguese speaker says this.
❌ Moro para Lisboa.
Incorrect — 'para' implies movement, not residence.
✅ Moro em Lisboa.
I live in Lisbon.
✅ Vivemos no Porto há cinco anos.
We've lived in Porto for five years. (em + o = no)
Contractions: the silent killer
EP uses obligatory contractions between common prepositions and articles. Leaving them uncontracted is one of the clearest markers of learner writing.
| Preposition |
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | ao | à | aos | às |
| de | do | da | dos | das |
| em | no | na | nos | nas |
| por | pelo | pela | pelos | pelas |
❌ Fui a o cinema.
Incorrect — must contract.
✅ Fui ao cinema.
I went to the cinema.
❌ Sou de a França.
Incorrect — never leave *de + a* uncontracted.
✅ Sou de França.
I'm from France. (PT-PT prefers most European country names without article after *de*: *de Espanha, de Itália, de Inglaterra*. BR uses *da França*.)
❌ Moro em a cidade.
Incorrect.
✅ Moro na cidade.
I live in the city.
Origin: de with countries, cities, and regions
Origin always takes de (and its contractions). The pattern is sou de + place.
✅ Sou de Portugal.
I'm from Portugal.
✅ Ela é dos Estados Unidos.
She's from the United States. (de + os = dos)
✅ Ele vem de França.
He's coming from France. (PT-PT drops the article with most European country names; BR would say *da França*.)
✅ Ele vem do Brasil.
He's coming from Brazil. (Brazil takes the article in both varieties.)
✅ Sou de Lisboa.
I'm from Lisbon. (no article with most city names)
❌ Sou em Portugal.
Incorrect — 'em' is location, not origin.
❌ Sou para Portugal.
Incorrect.
Purpose vs beginning: para + infinitive vs a + infinitive
Learners confuse two very different infinitive constructions: para + infinitive (purpose) vs a + infinitive with certain "inchoative" verbs like começar, pôr-se, continuar (starting an action).
✅ Vim para estudar português.
I came in order to study Portuguese. (purpose — 'para')
✅ Começou a chover.
It started raining. (inchoative — 'começar a')
❌ Começou para chover.
Incorrect — 'começar' takes 'a', not 'para'.
❌ Continuou para trabalhar.
Incorrect.
✅ Continuou a trabalhar.
He/she kept on working.
And with verbs like conseguir, poder, dever, querer, gostar de, the infinitive takes no preposition at all (or de, specifically for gostar):
❌ Ela conseguiu a abrir a porta.
Incorrect — 'conseguir' takes no preposition before an infinitive.
✅ Ela conseguiu abrir a porta.
She managed to open the door.
❌ Posso de ajudar?
Incorrect — 'poder' takes no preposition.
✅ Posso ajudar?
Can I help?
Gostar always takes de
This is the error that every English speaker makes in their first week and some are still making in their fifth year. Gostar always takes de — of a thing, of a person, of an activity.
❌ Gosto muito Lisboa.
Incorrect — missing 'de'.
❌ Gosto-te.
Incorrect — doesn't work.
❌ Gosto a ti.
Incorrect — Spanish transfer.
✅ Gosto muito de Lisboa.
I really like Lisbon.
✅ Gosto de ti.
I like you.
✅ Gostas de nadar?
Do you like swimming?
The same is true of precisar (de), desistir (de), esquecer-se (de), lembrar-se (de), rir-se (de).
❌ Preciso um conselho.
Incorrect — missing 'de'.
✅ Preciso de um conselho.
I need some advice.
Pensar — em vs sobre
Pensar em = to think of / about (a person, a thing occupying your mind). Pensar sobre = to think about (a topic, in the sense of reflect on). The two are not interchangeable. English "think about" maps to pensar em for people and everyday objects of thought, and to pensar sobre for topics/issues being reflected on.
❌ Penso sobre ti todos os dias.
Technically possible but sounds odd — too intellectual.
✅ Penso em ti todos os dias.
I think of you every day.
✅ Temos de pensar sobre este problema.
We have to think about this problem. (reflection)
✅ Em que estás a pensar?
What are you thinking about?
Casar-se com, apaixonar-se por, preocupar-se com
A cluster of reflexive relationship verbs that each take their own preposition. These are pure memorisation — no shortcut.
| Verb | Preposition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| casar-se | com | Casou-se com a Ana em Junho. |
| apaixonar-se | por | Apaixonei-me por ele logo. |
| preocupar-se | com | Preocupo-me contigo. |
| zangar-se | com | Zanguei-me com o meu irmão. |
| separar-se | de | Separou-se do marido. |
| divorciar-se | de | Divorciou-se dela. |
❌ Casei com ele.
Understandable, but careful EP uses reflexive 'casei-me'.
✅ Casei-me com ele.
I married him.
❌ Apaixonei-me de ele.
Incorrect — 'apaixonar-se' takes 'por'.
✅ Apaixonei-me por ele.
I fell in love with him.
❌ Preocupo-me sobre ti.
Incorrect — 'preocupar-se' takes 'com'.
✅ Preocupo-me contigo.
I'm worried about you. (com + ti = contigo)
Demorar a, esperar por, contar com
Three more verb-preposition pairs that are constantly needed and constantly wrong.
❌ Demorei para chegar.
Incorrect — 'demorar' takes 'a' before an infinitive.
✅ Demorei a chegar.
I took a while to arrive.
❌ Espero-te há uma hora.
Sounds off — 'esperar' for 'waiting for' takes 'por'.
✅ Espero por ti há uma hora.
I've been waiting for you for an hour.
❌ Conta comigo sobre isso.
Incorrect — 'contar com' = to rely on, used bare.
✅ Conta comigo.
You can count on me.
✅ Conta comigo para o jantar de sábado.
Count me in for Saturday's dinner.
Spanish transfer: ver a alguém vs ver alguém
In Spanish, a "personal a" appears before human direct objects: vi *a Juan. Portuguese *does not use the personal a — direct objects are bare, whether human or not.
❌ Vi a o João ontem no mercado.
Spanish-style 'personal a' + article doesn't exist in PT. There's no preposition before a direct object — just the article *o*.
✅ Vi o João ontem no mercado.
I saw João yesterday at the market. (Just the article *o* — no preposition 'a' before a direct object.)
✅ Vi a Maria ontem no mercado.
I saw Maria yesterday at the market. (The *a* here is the feminine article before *Maria*, not a Spanish-style personal *a*. The test: with a masculine name, the word is *o João*, not *a João*.)
✅ Ajudei o meu irmão.
I helped my brother. (no preposition before the direct object, only the article)
English transfer: pensar sobre, olhar para, procurar por
English "think about, look at, search for" seduces learners into matching prepositions one-to-one. The results are often wrong.
❌ Olhei a porta.
Incorrect — 'olhar' requires 'para' for 'look at'.
✅ Olhei para a porta.
I looked at the door.
❌ Procurei por o livro toda a manhã.
Incorrect — 'procurar' is usually transitive in PT, no 'por'.
✅ Procurei o livro toda a manhã.
I looked for the book all morning.
❌ Discuti sobre ela.
Possibly OK if you mean 'I argued about her'. But for 'I argued with her', use 'com'.
✅ Discuti com ela sobre o projeto.
I argued with her about the project.
Time with a and em
For clock times, use a + article: às cinco (at five), ao meio-dia (at noon). For months and years, use em.
❌ Volto a cinco.
Incorrect — 'às cinco' requires the contraction.
✅ Volto às cinco.
I'll be back at five. (a + as = às)
✅ Saímos ao meio-dia.
We leave at noon.
✅ Nasci em Maio.
I was born in May.
✅ Em 2020 mudei-me para Portugal.
In 2020 I moved to Portugal.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: gostar without de
❌ Gosto muito Portugal.
Incorrect — missing 'de'.
✅ Gosto muito de Portugal.
I really like Portugal.
Mistake 2: ir em or chegar em
❌ Vou em casa.
BR/colloquial, jarring in EP.
✅ Vou a casa. / Vou para casa.
I'm going home.
❌ Cheguei em Lisboa.
Incorrect in EP.
✅ Cheguei a Lisboa.
I arrived in Lisbon.
Mistake 3: missing contractions
❌ Vou a o parque.
Always contract: a + o = ao.
✅ Vou ao parque.
I'm going to the park.
❌ Falei com o filho de a vizinha.
Must contract: de + a = da.
✅ Falei com o filho da vizinha.
I spoke to the neighbour's son.
Mistake 4: pensar sobre for everyday thought
❌ Penso sobre ti sempre.
Awkward — too intellectual.
✅ Penso em ti sempre.
I always think about you.
Mistake 5: Spanish personal a
❌ Vi a meu pai.
Spanish transfer — PT drops the 'a'.
✅ Vi o meu pai.
I saw my father.
Mistake 6: para with verbs that take a
❌ Começou para chover.
Incorrect — 'começar' takes 'a'.
✅ Começou a chover.
It started raining.
Mistake 7: inserting prepositions where none are needed
❌ Consegui de abrir.
Incorrect — 'conseguir' takes a bare infinitive.
✅ Consegui abrir.
I managed to open it.
Key Takeaways
- Prepositions in Portuguese are conventional, not logical — you have to learn them as part of each verb.
- Contractions are obligatory: a + o = ao, de + a = da, em + o = no, por + a = pela. Skipping them makes writing look clumsy.
- BR-influenced errors (ir em, chegar em) are unambiguously wrong in EP, even though you'll hear them constantly in Brazilian media.
- Spanish transfer errors (personal a, gostar a) are just as common if you know Spanish.
- English transfer errors hit verbs of perception and pursuit (olhar para, procurar, bare) hard.
- The single biggest time-saver: learn each verb with its preposition (gostar de, precisar de, casar-se com, pensar em, apaixonar-se por, demorar a, esperar por, contar com) as a fixed unit. Don't learn them as verbs and then add prepositions.
- Keep a running list of any verb-preposition pair that bites you. By the time it bites you twice, it's usually stuck.
Related Topics
- Portuguese Prepositions OverviewA1 — Introduction to Portuguese prepositions and their uses, including the obligatory contractions that set European Portuguese apart.
- a vs. para: Choosing the Right 'to'A2 — How to choose between a and para when English says 'to' — short trips versus relocation, indirect objects, deadlines, purpose, and the PT-PT standard.
- por vs. para: The Classic PairA2 — The definitive PT-PT comparison of por and para — cause vs. purpose, agent vs. recipient, route vs. destination, duration vs. deadline, and the subtle cases that trip up every learner.
- Verbs and Their PrepositionsB1 — A reference list of which Portuguese verbs require which prepositions before their complement — the lexical pairings that determine whether your sentence is grammatical.
- All Preposition Contractions (Complete Reference)A2 — The complete reference for all European Portuguese preposition contractions — definite and indefinite articles, demonstratives, and pronouns. Master tables and quick-reference grids.
- Pronoun Placement ErrorsA2 — The clitic-placement mistakes learners make most often in European Portuguese — BR-influenced proclisis, missing triggers, wrong hyphenation, and contraction errors.