The Preposition com | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

The preposition com is the Portuguese equivalent of English "with." It is one of the easiest prepositions to learn because most of its meanings line up with English: you use it for who or what is with you, for the tool you are using, and for the manner in which you do something. The one genuine hurdle is the set of five irregular contractions that it forms with personal pronouns — comigo, contigo, consigo, connosco, convosco. These fused forms are obligatory, and European Portuguese spells connosco with a double n that trips up even speakers who have studied the Brazilian variant.

The big picture

Com marks the thing that goes along with the action. That "thing" can be a companion, an instrument, a quality, an ingredient, or a circumstance. Once you see the underlying idea — together with, accompanied by — the individual uses will feel like a single concept wearing different clothes.

Unlike por, a, de, and em, the preposition com does not contract with definite articles. You say com o João, com a Ana, com os miúdos, com as minhas irmãs — always written as separate words. The only contractions you need to learn are with the personal pronouns, which we cover below.

1. Accompaniment — "with someone, with something"

This is the most basic and most literal use. If person A is in the company of person B, B is marked by com.

Vou ao cinema com o João e a Marta.

I'm going to the cinema with João and Marta.

Estou com os meus pais este fim de semana.

I'm with my parents this weekend.

Ela vive com duas colegas num apartamento na Graça.

She lives with two flatmates in an apartment in Graça.

The same construction works for things that go together, not just for people:

Prefiro o café com leite e sem açúcar.

I prefer coffee with milk and without sugar.

Pediu uma sandes com queijo e fiambre.

He ordered a sandwich with cheese and ham.

Note the European Portuguese word sandes (sandwich), which is not shared with Brazilian Portuguese, where sanduíche is standard.

2. Instrument — "using, by means of"

When you describe the tool used to carry out an action, com plays the English "with" role perfectly. Knife, pen, key, stick — whatever the object is, it follows com.

Corta o pão com aquela faca maior, é mais fácil.

Cut the bread with that bigger knife, it's easier.

Escrevi a carta à mão, com uma caneta de tinta permanente.

I wrote the letter by hand, with a fountain pen.

Abre a porta com a chave pequena, a grande é do portão.

Open the door with the small key, the big one is for the gate.

The line between instrument and accompaniment can blur for abstract nouns — with great care, with experience — but the grammar is the same in both cases.

3. Manner — "with care, with joy"

Portuguese very often prefers com + noun where English prefers an adverb in -ly. Instead of saying carefully, you say with care. Instead of happily, with joy. This is a stylistic choice that native speakers make constantly, and imitating it will make your Portuguese sound lighter and more idiomatic.

Portuguese	English
com cuidado	carefully
com calma	calmly, without rushing
com alegria	happily, with joy
com paciência	patiently
com dificuldade	with difficulty, barely
com facilidade	easily
com atenção	attentively, carefully
com medo	fearfully, scared

Conduz com cuidado, a estrada está molhada.

Drive carefully, the road is wet.

Ela explicou tudo com muita paciência.

She explained everything very patiently.

💡

If you want to sound like a native speaker, reach for com + noun before you reach for -mente. Cuidadosamente is perfectly correct but feels heavy; com cuidado is what you will actually hear in a kitchen, a car, or a classroom.

4. Obligatory pronoun contractions — comigo, contigo, consigo, connosco, convosco

This is the only genuinely tricky piece of com. When com meets certain personal pronouns, the two fuse into a single word. You cannot say com mim or com ti — these are grammatically impossible. The fused forms are the only option.

Components	Contraction	Meaning
com + mim	comigo	with me
com + ti	contigo	with you (informal)
com + si	consigo	with him/her/you (formal)
com + nós	connosco	with us
com + vós	convosco	with you all

Study the spelling carefully. Connosco has two *n*s in European Portuguese. This is one of the most reliable markers of PT-PT orthography — Brazilian spelling is conosco with one n, and both spellings survive under the 1990 Orthographic Agreement because they reflect actual pronunciation differences between the two varieties. If you are learning European Portuguese, always write connosco.

Queres vir connosco ao cinema esta noite?

Do you want to come with us to the cinema tonight?

Ele falou comigo durante mais de uma hora.

He talked to me for over an hour.

Contigo ou sem ti, eu vou à praia no sábado.

With you or without you, I'm going to the beach on Saturday.

Convosco nunca me aborreço.

With you all I'm never bored.

Leve sempre o passaporte consigo quando viajar.

Always carry your passport with you when travelling.

When consigo means "with you"

Consigo deserves a special note. Historically it meant with himself / herself / themselves, but in European Portuguese it has become the standard polite "with you" form used in face-to-face conversation. Brazilian Portuguese does not share this — in BR, consigo stays reflexive, and polite "with you" is com você.

Posso falar consigo um momento?

May I speak with you a moment?

Foi um prazer falar consigo esta tarde.

It was a pleasure speaking with you this afternoon.

This polite consigo is extremely common in everyday PT-PT — at the counter, on the phone, in shops, at work. Learners from Brazil often do a double-take when they hear it.

Every other pronoun stays separate

Com does not contract with ele, ela, eles, elas, você, or vocês. You keep them as two words:

Jantei com ele ontem à noite.

I had dinner with him last night.

Vou ao teatro com elas na sexta-feira.

I'm going to the theatre with them on Friday.

5. Ingredient and content — "containing"

When describing what is inside a dish, a drink, or a product, com marks the ingredients. English often does the same thing ("pasta with mushrooms"), so this use should feel natural.

Fiz uma sopa com abóbora, cenoura e gengibre.

I made a soup with pumpkin, carrot, and ginger.

Não gosto de bifanas com mostarda, só com piri-piri.

I don't like pork sandwiches with mustard, only with piri-piri.

Este champô é feito com extratos naturais.

This shampoo is made with natural extracts.

6. Description — "having, possessing"

Com can attach a feature or characteristic to a noun, working like English "with" in "a house with a garden" or "a person with experience."

Procuro um apartamento com dois quartos e varanda.

I'm looking for a two-bedroom apartment with a balcony.

Precisamos de alguém com experiência em marketing digital.

We need someone with experience in digital marketing.

Um homem com os olhos azuis entrou no café.

A man with blue eyes came into the café.

7. Circumstance — "when it is X"

Portuguese uses com to sketch the circumstances under which something happens: with sun, with rain, with this noise. English would usually rephrase with "when it is" or "if there is."

Com sol, o pessoal sai logo para a esplanada.

When it's sunny, people head straight out to the terraces.

Com este barulho é impossível trabalhar.

With this noise it's impossible to work.

Com tanta chuva, os rios vão encher.

With this much rain, the rivers are going to flood.

8. Emotional or confrontational relationship — "towards, with"

A small group of emotion verbs and adjectives require com when pointing to the target of the feeling. English here often uses "with" too, though not always.

Estou muito zangado com ele por causa do que disse.

I'm really angry with him because of what he said.

Ela é sempre simpática com toda a gente.

She's always nice to everyone.

Tem paciência com os miúdos, que eles ainda estão a aprender.

Be patient with the kids, they're still learning.

9. Verbs that take com

Quite a few Portuguese verbs lock onto com and require it before their object. When these verbs are translated into English they do not always use "with" — which is why you have to memorise them as verb-preposition pairs.

Verb	Meaning
contar com	to count on
preocupar-se com	to worry about
sonhar com	to dream about / of
parecer-se com	to look like
casar-se com / casar com	to marry
importar-se com	to mind, to care about
concordar com	to agree with
zangar-se com	to get angry with

Podes sempre contar comigo, sabes disso.

You can always count on me, you know that.

Não te preocupes com isso, eu trato.

Don't worry about that, I'll handle it.

Ele parece-se muito com o pai.

He looks a lot like his father.

For the full list, see prepositions with verbs.

Common Mistakes

❌ Queres vir com mim ao cinema?

Incorrect — com + mim must contract to comigo.

✅ Queres vir comigo ao cinema?

Do you want to come with me to the cinema?

❌ Ele veio conosco à festa.

Incorrect in PT-PT — this is the Brazilian spelling.

✅ Ele veio connosco à festa.

He came with us to the party.

❌ Ela parece-se a mim.

Incorrect — parecer-se takes com, not a.

✅ Ela parece-se comigo.

She looks like me.

❌ Vou casar-me a uma portuguesa.

Incorrect — casar-se takes com, not a.

✅ Vou casar-me com uma portuguesa.

I'm going to marry a Portuguese woman.

❌ Posso falar com si?

Incorrect — com + si must contract to consigo.

✅ Posso falar consigo?

May I speak with you?

The connosco / conosco split is particularly worth memorising. If you have studied Brazilian Portuguese or use online resources that mix the two variants, you will reach for conosco instinctively — and you will be wrong in any European Portuguese context.

Key Takeaways

Com means with in its accompaniment, instrument, and manner senses.
It does not contract with definite articles — always com o, com a, com os, com as.
It does contract obligatorily with mim, ti, si, nós, vós: comigo, contigo, consigo, connosco, convosco.
In European Portuguese connosco has a double n — this is the non-negotiable PT-PT spelling.
Consigo functions as polite "with you" in face-to-face speech, a PT-PT-specific use.
Many verbs (contar com, sonhar com, casar-se com) fix com as their required preposition.