The preposition a is short but dense. It handles direction (the most common use), indirect objects, time of day, manner, periodic frequency, and the verbs that demand it as their link word. It is also the preposition that drives the European Portuguese construction até ao / até à, one of the clearest fingerprints of the Portuguese of Portugal. And it is the preposition most often confused with its companion para — a confusion this page will clear up decisively.
Before the grammar, a quick note on spelling. The preposition a looks identical to the feminine definite article a (the). They behave completely differently in a sentence, but when the two meet you get the contraction à — written with a grave accent. That grave accent is not decorative; it is the only way Portuguese distinguishes a (preposition) + a (article) from either one on its own.
Direction: movement toward a place
The most common use of a is to mark a destination that you reach and then typically leave. Think of it as the preposition of visits and short trips.
Vou ao supermercado comprar pão e leite.
I'm going to the supermarket to buy bread and milk.
Amanhã vamos ao cinema ver o novo filme do Almodóvar.
Tomorrow we're going to the cinema to see the new Almodóvar film.
Ela foi ao médico esta manhã e já voltou.
She went to the doctor this morning and she's already back.
In all three cases, the movement has a defined endpoint and a clear return: you go, you do something, you come back. That is the canonical use of a.
The contrast with para matters here. Ir a Lisboa is a brief trip. Ir para Lisboa carries the sense of going to stay — relocating, settling in, or at minimum being there for an extended period. A Portuguese speaker on a weekend trip says fui a Lisboa no fim de semana. Someone moving to the capital says vou para Lisboa no mês que vem. Both translate into English as I'm going to Lisbon, but in Portuguese the choice is meaningful.
Arrival: chegar a
The verb chegar (to arrive) also takes a to mark the place of arrival. This is different from English, which uses at for small places and in for cities and countries; Portuguese uses a for everything.
O comboio chega a Lisboa às oito e meia.
The train arrives in Lisbon at half past eight.
Cheguei ao escritório cinco minutos atrasado.
I got to the office five minutes late.
Indirect objects
A marks the recipient of an action — the person or thing to whom or for whom something is done. This is the grammatical role known as the indirect object, and it shows up most often with verbs of giving, telling, sending, and showing.
Dei o livro ao João ontem à noite.
I gave João the book last night.
Vou telefonar à minha mãe para lhe dar as boas notícias.
I'm going to call my mother to give her the good news.
Os miúdos mostraram os desenhos à professora.
The kids showed their drawings to the teacher.
Notice how Portuguese personal names are routinely preceded by a definite article (o João, a Maria, a minha mãe), which then contracts with a to produce ao, à. This combination is so constant that the contractions feel like a single word in rapid speech.
This is also a clean area where Portuguese differs from Spanish. Spanish has the so-called personal a — a mandatory a before a direct object that refers to a specific human (Veo a mi madre). Portuguese has no such rule. You say Vejo a minha mãe (I see my mother), where a is simply the feminine article, not a preposition; and Dei o livro à minha mãe (I gave my mother the book), where à is the preposition marking the indirect object. The direct-object version has no preposition at all.
Time of day
For clock time, Portuguese uses a — and the article is obligatory, producing the contractions ao and à.
O jantar é às oito em ponto.
Dinner is at eight sharp.
Levanto-me às sete da manhã durante a semana.
I get up at seven in the morning on weekdays.
A reunião ficou marcada para as dez e meia de amanhã.
The meeting is set for half past ten tomorrow.
Two specific times don't take an article directly: ao meio-dia (at noon) and à meia-noite (at midnight). These are fixed expressions you simply memorize.
Chegamos a Paris ao meio-dia e saímos à meia-noite.
We arrive in Paris at noon and leave at midnight.
Manner and fixed adverbial phrases
A large family of adverbial expressions is built with a plus a noun, describing how an action is done. These are idioms — you cannot easily predict them.
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| a pé | on foot |
| a cavalo | on horseback |
| a mão | by hand |
| à pressa | in a hurry |
| à vontade | at ease, freely |
| ao vivo | live (broadcast or performance) |
| à portuguesa | Portuguese-style |
| à moda antiga | old-fashioned |
Prefiro ir a pé, o restaurante é aqui ao lado.
I'd rather walk, the restaurant is right next door.
Comi à pressa e saí logo de casa.
I ate in a hurry and left the house immediately.
Fizeram-nos um bacalhau à portuguesa maravilhoso.
They made us a wonderful Portuguese-style bacalhau.
The à + feminine noun pattern is especially productive for describing something in a certain style: ao estilo brasileiro, à maneira italiana, à portuguesa. These feel stylish and a little elevated, but they are completely normal in both speech and writing.
Periodic time: how often
A also expresses regularity or periodic frequency when paired with a time unit. The pattern is [number] vez/es + a/ao + time unit or simply a/ao + time unit.
Vou ao ginásio três vezes por semana.
I go to the gym three times a week.
Pagam-me ao mês, não à hora.
They pay me monthly, not by the hour.
Este barco faz a viagem duas vezes ao dia.
This boat makes the trip twice a day.
Note that por is also widely used in this construction (três vezes por semana is as common as três vezes à semana). Both are acceptable. The choice is stylistic: a/ao has a slightly more formal or established feel, while por is neutral.
Até ao: the PT-PT fingerprint
The preposition até (until, up to, as far as) takes an extra a in European Portuguese when followed by a definite article. This is the até ao / até à pattern, and it is one of the clearest differences between the Portuguese of Portugal and the Portuguese of Brazil.
Fui até ao fim da rua e voltei.
I went to the end of the street and came back.
A loja fica aberta até às nove da noite.
The shop stays open until nine in the evening.
Ficamos a conversar até à meia-noite.
We stayed chatting until midnight.
In Brazilian Portuguese, até typically appears without the extra a: até o fim da rua, até as nove. A Brazilian might even find até ao redundant. In European Portuguese, the opposite is true: até o fim sounds incomplete, even wrong. If you are learning PT-PT, make até ao / até à automatic.
This pattern does not apply when até is followed by a proper noun without an article (até amanhã, até terça, até Lisboa) or when used in a non-spatial sense (fiquei até que ele chegou). But whenever a masculine or feminine definite article follows, até attracts the preposition a and you get the contraction ao or à.
Verbs that take a
A significant group of Portuguese verbs requires a before their complement. Many involve motion, beginning, assistance, or obligation.
| Verb + a | Meaning |
|---|---|
| começar a + inf | to start (doing) |
| aprender a + inf | to learn to (do) |
| ensinar a + inf | to teach to (do) |
| continuar a + inf | to continue (doing) |
| ajudar a + inf | to help (to do) |
| obrigar a + inf | to force to (do) |
| assistir a | to watch, attend |
| responder a | to answer |
| pertencer a | to belong to |
| dedicar-se a | to devote oneself to |
Comecei a aprender português aos dezoito anos.
I started learning Portuguese when I was eighteen.
Ajudas-me a fazer o jantar?
Can you help me make dinner?
Ontem à noite assistimos a um concerto espetacular.
Last night we went to an amazing concert.
The particularly useful pattern estar a + infinitive is the European Portuguese equivalent of the English progressive ("to be doing"). Brazilian Portuguese uses estar + gerúndio (estou fazendo); European Portuguese uses estar a + infinitive (estou a fazer). This is one of the most audible differences between the two varieties.
Estou a ler um livro fascinante sobre a ditadura.
I'm reading a fascinating book about the dictatorship.
The contractions of a
Because a contracts obligatorily with definite articles and with the distal demonstratives, mastering these forms is essential.
| a + … | Contracted form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| o / a / os / as | ao / à / aos / às | ao médico, às dez |
| aquele / aquela / aqueles / aquelas | àquele / àquela / àqueles / àquelas | àquela hora |
| aquilo | àquilo | àquilo que dizes |
Àquela hora já estávamos todos a dormir.
At that hour we were already all asleep.
Não dês importância àquilo que ele disse.
Don't give importance to what he said.
Unlike de and em, the preposition a does not contract with este, esse, um, or ele/ela. Those remain separate words: a este projeto, a uma senhora, a ela. Only the distal demonstratives (the aquele family) trigger the grave accent merger.
The grave accent and why it matters
The grave accent on à is not an optional embellishment. It is the orthographic signal that you are reading a contraction of preposition a + article a / demonstrative aquela. Without it, you just have the article. Compare:
A casa é grande.
The house is big. (a = article)
Vou à casa da Ana.
I'm going to Ana's house. (à = preposition + article)
If you write a where you should write à, you have changed the grammar of the sentence. The same applies to às versus as. In handwriting, many Portuguese speakers are careful to keep the accent visible because its absence is a recognizable mistake.
Common mistakes
❌ Vou em casa da minha avó.
Incorrect — movement takes a, not em (Brazilianism).
✅ Vou a casa da minha avó.
I'm going to my grandmother's house.
❌ Fiquei até o fim do filme.
Incorrect in PT-PT — até requires a + article.
✅ Fiquei até ao fim do filme.
I stayed until the end of the film.
❌ Dei um presente a a Maria.
Incorrect — a + a obligatorily contracts to à.
✅ Dei um presente à Maria.
I gave Maria a present.
❌ Começámos trabalhar cedo.
Incorrect — começar takes a before an infinitive.
✅ Começámos a trabalhar cedo.
We started working early.
❌ O filme começa a 8 horas.
Incorrect — clock time requires the article, hence às.
✅ O filme começa às 8 horas.
The film starts at 8 o'clock.
A versus para: the quick decision
Learners spend months untangling when to use a versus para. Here is a clean summary:
- A — short movement, brief visit, destination you will soon leave. Also: indirect object, clock time, manner, verb complement.
- Para — longer movement, relocation, purpose, deadline, benefit. Also: comparison, opinion, recipient of something material.
Vou a Lisboa amanhã, volto no domingo.
I'm going to Lisbon tomorrow, coming back on Sunday.
Vou para Lisboa no próximo mês — arranjei lá emprego.
I'm moving to Lisbon next month — I got a job there.
When in doubt for a destination, picture the return ticket. If the speaker is planning on coming back soon, the Portuguese instinct is a. If they are going for the long haul, it is para.
Key takeaways
- A marks direction (short trips), indirect objects, time of day, manner, and periodic frequency.
- Mandatory contractions: a + o = ao, a + a = à, a + os = aos, a + as = às, a + aquele/aquela = àquele/àquela.
- The grave accent on à is obligatory — it distinguishes the preposition+article from the bare article.
- Até in European Portuguese takes a: até ao, até à. This is the defining PT-PT pattern.
- Many verbs require a: começar a, aprender a, ajudar a, assistir a, responder a.
- Estar a + infinitive is the European Portuguese progressive (vs. Brazilian estar + gerúndio).
Now that you have a in hand, move on to the preposition para to complete the direction-and-destination picture.
Related Topics
- Portuguese Prepositions OverviewA1 — Introduction to Portuguese prepositions and their uses, including the obligatory contractions that set European Portuguese apart.
- The Preposition deA1 — Uses of the preposition de — origin, possession, material, partitives, time, and the verbs that require it.
- The Preposition emA1 — Uses of the preposition em — static location, time, and state — and why Portuguese uses de (not em) for transport.
- The Preposition paraA1 — Uses of the preposition para — purpose, destination, recipient, deadline, comparison, and the para vs. por distinction.