Compound Prepositions: Ao lado de, em frente de, apesar de, por causa de | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Compound prepositions — the multi-word phrases that act as a single preposition — are where Portuguese builds almost all of its everyday spatial and logical vocabulary. The simple prepositions like a, de, em, por, and com are too abstract to express distinctions like next to, in spite of, or because of, so Portuguese stitches them onto nouns, adjectives, and adverbs to form fixed phrases that behave as a unit. Ao lado de, em frente de, apesar de, por causa de, além de, acerca de — these are the connectors you will actually use when you describe space, reason, exception, and topic in a real conversation.

This page lays out the major compound prepositions by semantic category, explains the structural patterns that generate them, and flags the European Portuguese preferences that differ from Brazilian usage. The single most important structural fact to internalize up front is simple: the linking preposition that closes the phrase (usually de) is obligatory. Dropping it produces ungrammatical Portuguese, not casual Portuguese.

The underlying structural pattern

Most compound prepositions in Portuguese fit one of three templates:

Adverb + de: antes de, depois de, dentro de, fora de, perto de, longe de, além de
Preposition + noun + de / a: em cima de, ao lado de, por causa de, em frente de, em vez de, à frente de
Noun + de: graças a, devido a, apesar de

The closing element — de, a, or occasionally com — is not decorative. It is the preposition that actually grammatically links the phrase to its complement. In apesar do mau tempo, the word apesar on its own is a noun meaning "despite"; the de is what allows it to govern the noun phrase o mau tempo. Without it, the connection has no grammar. This is why English speakers who forget the linking preposition — writing apesar o mau tempo or em cima a mesa — produce not broken Portuguese but structurally impossible Portuguese.

Apesar do mau tempo, fizemos a caminhada até ao farol.

Despite the bad weather, we did the hike up to the lighthouse.

A bagagem está em cima do armário, no quarto de hóspedes.

The luggage is on top of the wardrobe, in the guest room.

Because the closing preposition is almost always de, a, or em, compound prepositions participate in the contraction system just like simple prepositions: em cima de + o = em cima do, apesar de + as = apesar das, devido a + o = devido ao. Contraction is obligatory.

Spatial compound prepositions

Spatial compounds are the richest category. Portuguese needs them because the simple preposition em covers in, on, and at without distinguishing them — so if you want to say specifically on top of rather than just on, or next to rather than just at, you reach for a compound.

Compound	Meaning	Notes
ao lado de	next to, beside	The everyday choice
em frente de	in front of, opposite	PT-PT preferred over em frente a
em frente a	facing, opposite	Also acceptable in PT-PT, especially with streets or rivers
à frente de	ahead of, in front of	Often figurative: à frente do seu tempo
atrás de	behind	Neutral register
por trás de	behind (figurative)	"Behind the scenes"; often suggests hidden motive
em cima de	on top of	Emphasizes surface contact
por cima de	over, above	Suggests something passing over without contact
debaixo de	underneath	Most common for "under"
por baixo de	underneath (passing)	Suggests movement below
dentro de	inside, within	Also temporal: dentro de uma hora
fora de	outside of, out of	Also figurative: fora de controlo
no meio de	in the middle of	Both spatial and metaphorical
através de	through, across	Also instrumental: através da leitura
ao redor de / em redor de	around, surrounding	Slightly literary
à volta de	around	Everyday PT-PT
junto a	right by, adjacent to	Suggests close physical proximity
junto de	beside, next to (someone)	Often used with people
perto de	near	General proximity
longe de	far from	Opposite of perto de

O café fica mesmo em frente da estação, não tem engano.

The café is right opposite the station, you can't miss it.

Deixei o guarda-chuva em cima da cadeira da entrada.

I left the umbrella on top of the chair by the entrance.

Vivemos a dez minutos a pé do mar, mas longe do centro.

We live ten minutes on foot from the sea, but far from the centre.

Há um gato escondido debaixo do carro.

There's a cat hiding under the car.

Em frente a versus em frente de

Both forms are grammatical in European Portuguese, but em frente de is the preferred, more idiomatic choice in PT-PT for the ordinary "opposite / in front of" meaning. You will still hear em frente a — especially when the reference is a street, a square, or a body of water (a casa dá em frente ao rio — "the house faces the river") — and nobody will correct you for using it. But if you want your Portuguese to sound specifically European rather than Brazilian, reach for em frente de first.

A farmácia é em frente do hospital, do outro lado da rua.

The pharmacy is opposite the hospital, on the other side of the street.

O hotel dá em frente ao Tejo, com uma vista espetacular.

The hotel faces the Tagus, with a spectacular view.

Em cima de versus sobre

Em cima de is the everyday word for on top of. The simple preposition sobre exists and means the same thing, but it is more formal and more literary. In conversation, nobody says o livro está sobre a mesa — they say o livro está em cima da mesa, or more often just o livro está na mesa. Save sobre for writing, or for the metaphorical "about" sense (um livro sobre a guerra).

Deixa as chaves em cima da cómoda, faz favor.

Leave the keys on top of the chest of drawers, please.

Temporal compound prepositions

Portuguese has fewer time compounds than space compounds, but the ones it has are non-negotiable in everyday speech.

Compound	Meaning
antes de	before (in time)
depois de	after
até	until (simple preposition, no de)
durante	during (simple preposition)
a partir de	starting from, from [X] onwards
desde	since, from (simple preposition)
por volta de	around (approximate time)
cerca de	about, approximately
no início de	at the beginning of
no fim de / no final de	at the end of
no meio de	in the middle of (also spatial)
ao fim de	after [duration], at the end of
dentro de	in [duration] (future)

Antes da reunião, tenho de passar no banco.

Before the meeting, I have to stop by the bank.

Depois do jantar, fomos dar uma volta pela baixa.

After dinner, we went for a walk around downtown.

O voo parte por volta das sete, a partir do terminal 2.

The flight leaves around seven, from terminal 2.

A exposição fica aberta até ao fim do mês.

The exhibition is open until the end of the month.

Notice that antes de and depois de can take either a noun (antes do jantar) or an infinitive (antes de jantar). This is one of the places where Portuguese uses an infinitive where English often uses a gerund: antes de sair = "before leaving", not "before to leave".

Causal compound prepositions

These explain why something happens — the cause, the reason, or the attributed agent. Por causa de is the workhorse, but each of the others carries a slightly different register.

Compound	Meaning	Register
por causa de	because of	Neutral, everyday
devido a	due to	More formal
em virtude de	by virtue of, owing to	Formal, legal
graças a	thanks to	Positive cause
por via de	by way of	Formal
em resultado de	as a result of	Journalistic
em consequência de	as a consequence of	Formal
por razão de	for reason of	Archaic / set phrases

Chegámos atrasados por causa do trânsito na ponte.

We arrived late because of the traffic on the bridge.

Devido às obras, a rua está cortada ao trânsito.

Due to the works, the street is closed to traffic.

Graças à tua ajuda, consegui acabar o trabalho a tempo.

Thanks to your help, I managed to finish the work on time.

The distinction between graças a and por causa de matters: graças a implies a positive outcome (you are thankful for the cause), while por causa de is neutral or negative. Graças à chuva, as colheitas foram boas is correct (rain helped); graças à chuva, chegámos tarde sounds sarcastic.

Concessive and adversative compounds

These compounds express the logical opposite of cause: something happens despite a countervailing force, or instead of an expected alternative.

Compound	Meaning	Register
apesar de	despite, in spite of	Neutral, everyday
a despeito de	in spite of, regardless of	More literary / emphatic
em vez de	instead of	Neutral
em lugar de	in place of	More formal than em vez de
em troca de	in exchange for	Transactional
não obstante	notwithstanding	Formal, written
longe de	far from (metaphorical)	Longe de ser fácil — "far from easy"

Apesar de estar cansada, fui ao ginásio na mesma.

Despite being tired, I went to the gym anyway.

Em vez de ficarmos em casa, porque é que não vamos ao teatro?

Instead of staying home, why don't we go to the theatre?

A despeito de todas as dificuldades, o projeto foi concluído.

In spite of all the difficulties, the project was completed.

Like antes de and depois de, the concessives apesar de and em vez de can take either a noun (apesar da chuva, em vez de café) or an infinitive (apesar de estar cansada, em vez de ficarmos em casa). When the subject of the main clause and the infinitive differ, Portuguese uses the personal infinitive: apesar de *nós estarmos cansados rather than *apesar de estar cansados.

Additive compounds

These add one element to another — the equivalent of English besides, in addition to, as well as.

Compound	Meaning
além de	besides, in addition to
para além de	besides, beyond (PT-PT preferred)
a par de	alongside, on a par with
juntamente com	together with

Para além de falar inglês, ela também fala francês e alemão.

In addition to speaking English, she also speaks French and German.

Além do salário, oferecem subsídio de alimentação e seguro de saúde.

Besides the salary, they offer a meal allowance and health insurance.

European Portuguese strongly prefers para além de over plain além de in writing and careful speech. Both are correct, but para além de is heard far more often in Portugal. Brazilian Portuguese tends to prefer the shorter além de.

Instrumental compounds (means / medium)

How something is done — the tool, method, or channel used.

Compound	Meaning
através de	through, by means of
por meio de	by means of
por intermédio de	through (an intermediary)
com a ajuda de	with the help of
à custa de	at the cost of, by dint of

Consegui o emprego através de um amigo da família.

I got the job through a family friend.

O documento foi enviado por meio de correio registado.

The document was sent by registered mail.

Construiu a casa à custa de muito trabalho e sacrifício.

He built the house at the cost of a lot of hard work and sacrifice.

Reference compounds (regarding, about)

When you want to introduce a topic or specify the subject of a discussion.

Compound	Meaning	Register
acerca de	about, concerning	Neutral
a respeito de	regarding, with respect to	Slightly more formal
em relação a	in relation to, about	Neutral, common
quanto a	as for, as regards	Common sentence-starter
no que respeita a	with regard to	Formal
no que diz respeito a	as far as... is concerned	Formal
sobre	about (simple preposition)	Neutral — also topical

Queria falar consigo acerca da proposta que enviei.

I wanted to speak with you about the proposal I sent.

Quanto aos horários, podemos decidir na próxima reunião.

As for the schedules, we can decide at the next meeting.

Em relação ao teu pedido, ainda estamos a analisar.

Regarding your request, we are still reviewing it.

Note that sobre, acerca de, and a respeito de can all translate as about when introducing a topic. They are largely interchangeable, though acerca de sounds slightly more formal in PT-PT than Brazilian sobre.

The obligatory linking preposition

The most common error learners make with compound prepositions is dropping the closing preposition — writing apesar o mau tempo, em frente o cinema, or em cima a mesa. This is the single biggest source of ungrammatical constructions in learner Portuguese.

The logic is straightforward: the head of the compound (apesar, frente, cima, lado, causa, vez) is a noun or a positional adverb. On its own, it cannot take a complement the way a verb or a true preposition can. The linking de (or a) is what licenses the following noun phrase. Strip it out and you have a noun floating in mid-sentence with nothing to attach it to.

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Every time you use a compound preposition, mentally check that the closing de or a is there. If your phrase is going to end with em cima, ao lado, por causa, apesar, em vez, através, perto, or longe followed directly by a noun, insert the missing de immediately.

And because the closing preposition is almost always de, it then contracts with any definite article that follows: em cima *da mesa, apesar **do frio, por causa **dos miúdos, em vez **das férias*. Double-check both the preposition and the contraction every time.

Common mistakes

❌ Apesar o mau tempo, fomos à praia.

Incorrect — apesar requires de: apesar do mau tempo.

✅ Apesar do mau tempo, fomos à praia.

Despite the bad weather, we went to the beach.

❌ O livro está em cima a mesa.

Incorrect — em cima requires de, contracted with a to da.

✅ O livro está em cima da mesa.

The book is on top of the table.

❌ Vamos em vez o cinema ao teatro.

Incorrect — em vez requires de: em vez de ir ao cinema.

✅ Em vez de ir ao cinema, vamos ao teatro.

Instead of going to the cinema, let's go to the theatre.

❌ Chegámos atrasados por causa o trânsito.

Incorrect — por causa requires de, contracted with o to do.

✅ Chegámos atrasados por causa do trânsito.

We arrived late because of the traffic.

❌ Além falar inglês, fala francês.

Incorrect — além requires de.

✅ Além de falar inglês, fala francês.

Besides speaking English, she speaks French.

❌ A farmácia é em frente o hospital.

Incorrect in PT-PT — prefer em frente de with the contraction.

✅ A farmácia é em frente do hospital.

The pharmacy is opposite the hospital.

Key takeaways

Compound prepositions are the glue of Portuguese description and argument. They break down into predictable semantic categories — spatial, temporal, causal, concessive, additive, instrumental, referential — and they almost all follow one of three structural templates ending in de, a, or em. The linking preposition is never optional, and because it is usually de, it almost always contracts with a following definite article.

Once you stop thinking of apesar, em cima, além, por causa, or em vez as standalone prepositions and start thinking of them as incomplete structures that need de to connect to the world, your compound prepositions stop breaking and your Portuguese starts to sound native.