English has two words, from and since, where Portuguese has three: de, desde, and the combination desde... até. In most cases de is the neutral, everyday choice; desde adds emphasis or marks the continuity between a starting point and the present. The distinction gets especially interesting with time: for "I've been living here since 2020," Portuguese says moro aqui desde 2020 — note the present tense, not the present perfect — and this is one of the most consistent traps for English speakers.
This page walks through every case where the two prepositions compete, gives you the PT-PT tense rule that governs the "since" construction, and explains the subjunctive/indicative split of desde que.
The core distinction
De is neutral. It simply names an origin — where something started, where someone is from, where a movement began. You use de for places, times, people, materials, topics, and as the link word in dozens of verb constructions. It carries no emphasis on continuity.
Desde is emphatic. It foregrounds the starting point itself and, often, the continuity between that starting point and the present. If de says originating from X, desde says starting from X and still going or all the way from X.
A rough analogy: English from is to since what Portuguese de is to desde. But the overlap with de is broader than English from, so the systems do not line up perfectly.
Origin of a person: always de
When you say where someone is from — their nationality or hometown — Portuguese uses de, not desde.
Sou de Lisboa, mas vivo no Porto há dez anos.
I'm from Lisbon, but I've been living in Porto for ten years.
De onde és? — Sou de Évora.
Where are you from? — I'm from Évora.
You never say sou desde Lisboa. Desde cannot introduce an origin in this identity-based sense. The rule is clean: for nationality and hometown, always de.
Origin of a thing: usually de
The same pattern holds for products, wines, objects, and the like — the place of origin is introduced by de.
Este vinho é da Bairrada e aquele queijo é da Serra da Estrela.
This wine is from Bairrada and that cheese is from Serra da Estrela.
Os azulejos vêm do século dezoito.
The tiles are from the eighteenth century.
Desde does not fit here. These are statements of provenance, not of movement or continuity.
Starting point of a movement: de (neutral) vs. desde (emphatic)
This is where desde finally earns its keep. When describing a movement's starting point, both prepositions are possible, but they feel different.
Viajei do Porto até Lisboa no sábado.
I travelled from Porto to Lisbon on Saturday.
Viajei desde o Porto até Lisboa só para te ver.
I travelled all the way from Porto to Lisbon just to see you.
The de version simply names the start and end. The desde version emphasises the journey's length or the effort involved — all the way from Porto. The difference is subtle but real. Native speakers reach for desde when they want the listener to feel the distance, the effort, or the continuity of the trajectory.
A chuva caiu desde a manhã até à noite, sem parar.
The rain fell from morning to night, without stopping.
O cortejo percorreu a avenida desde o Rossio até ao Marquês de Pombal.
The procession walked the avenue from Rossio all the way to Marquês de Pombal.
The desde... até pairing is especially natural in PT-PT — it bookends a stretch of space or time with both ends made visible. The até ao / até à contraction (see a preposition) is the PT-PT signature.
Time intervals: de... a... vs. desde... até...
For bounded time intervals — working hours, opening times, schedules — PT-PT prefers the de... a... pattern. It is compact and neutral.
Trabalho das nove às seis, de segunda a sexta.
I work from nine to six, Monday to Friday.
A loja está aberta das dez ao meio-dia e das quinze às dezanove.
The shop is open from ten to noon and from three to seven.
O curso decorre de outubro a junho.
The course runs from October to June.
For emphatic or extended time stretches — especially when the speaker wants to convey for all that time, continuously — desde... até... steps in.
Estudou desde a manhã até à noite sem parar.
He studied from morning till night without stopping.
Ficámos à espera desde as oito até às dez.
We waited from eight until ten.
The first example dramatises the effort; the second foregrounds the duration of the wait. In a neutral context you could equally say estudou da manhã à noite, but the desde version adds weight.
"Since" (temporal starting point): desde, with present tense
Here is where PT-PT and English part ways sharply. For the meaning since X (and still going on), Portuguese uses desde — but crucially with the presente do indicativo, not the present perfect.
Moro aqui desde 2020.
I've been living here since 2020.
Trabalho nesta empresa desde janeiro.
I've been working at this company since January.
Ele estuda português desde que chegou a Lisboa.
He's been studying Portuguese since he arrived in Lisbon.
Não a vejo desde a última quinta-feira.
I haven't seen her since last Thursday.
Notice the tense: moro, trabalho, estuda, vejo — all simple present, not tenho morado, tenho trabalhado, tenho estudado. The Portuguese present indicative already expresses ongoing action; adding desde + time-point completes the picture.
This is the opposite of the English pattern, where since triggers the present perfect: I have been living, I have been working. English learners writing in Portuguese reflexively produce tenho morado aqui desde 2020, which is ungrammatical. The Portuguese compound tense tenho + past participle means something more specific and more recent (I have been lately doing — a habit in the very recent past), and it does not combine with desde + year.
What the present perfect would mean instead
Tenho estudado muito nos últimos dias.
I've been studying a lot these past few days (recent habit).
Tenho trabalhado demais ultimamente.
I've been working too much lately.
These sentences do not name a specific starting point. They describe a habit or trend in the recent past, with the implication that it has been ongoing. You cannot anchor them with desde 2020 because the tense does not reach that far back.
To say I have been studying Portuguese since 2020, use estudo português desde 2020. To say I have been studying Portuguese a lot lately, use tenho estudado muito português ultimamente. Different sentences, different tenses, different moods.
"Since" (causal): desde que, with indicative
Desde que can also mean since in the causal/temporal sense — "ever since something happened, X has been true."
Desde que o meu filho nasceu, não durmo uma noite inteira.
Since my son was born, I haven't slept a whole night.
Desde que chegou a Lisboa, não parou de visitar monumentos.
Since he arrived in Lisbon, he hasn't stopped visiting monuments.
Notice again the tense pattern: the desde que clause uses indicative past (nasceu, chegou), and the main clause uses present or present perfect to describe the ongoing situation.
"As long as" / "provided that": desde que, with subjunctive
Here is the tricky part. The same phrase desde que can also mean provided that, as long as — a condition rather than a time. When it means condition, it takes the subjunctive, not the indicative.
Podes usar o meu carro, desde que o devolvas com o depósito cheio.
You can use my car, as long as you return it with a full tank.
Aceito a proposta, desde que me paguem antes do fim do mês.
I accept the proposal, provided that they pay me before the end of the month.
Vou contigo, desde que cheguemos a tempo.
I'll come with you, as long as we get there in time.
Compare the two usages:
Desde que cheguei, tenho estado muito cansado.
Since I arrived (time), I've been very tired.
Posso ajudar-te, desde que chegues a tempo.
I can help you, provided that you arrive on time (condition).
Same three words, two different meanings, two different moods. The past indicative (cheguei) gives a temporal reading. The present subjunctive (chegues) gives a conditional reading. This is one of the tidiest indicative/subjunctive contrasts in the language and an excellent case study for the subjunctive as the mood of hypothetical action.
"For" (a stretch of time until now): another place desde shines
Related to the "since" use, PT-PT frequently uses há + time for "for X time" when describing an ongoing state:
Moro aqui há cinco anos.
I've been living here for five years.
Conheço-a há uma década.
I've known her for a decade.
And desde for the starting point:
Moro aqui desde 2020.
I've been living here since 2020.
Conheço-a desde a universidade.
I've known her since university.
Both sentences describe the same ongoing state. Há tells you the duration backward from now; desde tells you when it started. Both are used with the present indicative. Native speakers use one or the other, or both in the same conversation, depending on whether they want to emphasise the duration or the starting point.
Trabalho aqui desde setembro, portanto há quase sete meses.
I've been working here since September, so for almost seven months.
This sentence uses both constructions naturally — desde setembro for the start, há quase sete meses for the duration.
"From now on" and related idioms
A handful of fixed expressions lean on desde:
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| desde então | since then, from then on |
| desde sempre | forever, always (since the beginning) |
| desde já | straight away, from now on |
| desde cedo | from an early age, from early on |
| desde pequeno / pequena | since childhood |
| desde os tempos de | ever since the days of |
Conhecemo-nos no liceu e desde então somos grandes amigos.
We met in secondary school and we've been great friends ever since.
Ela toca piano desde pequena, deve ter começado aos cinco anos.
She's been playing piano since she was little — she must have started at five.
Desde já te agradeço a ajuda.
Thank you in advance for the help.
The expression desde já is particularly useful in formal email writing — it is the standard way to thank someone in advance, and it softens a request.
Decision table
| Situation | Preposition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nationality / hometown | de | Sou de Lisboa. |
| Product origin / provenance | de | Vinho do Douro. |
| Neutral starting point of movement | de | Vim do trabalho. |
| Emphatic starting point (all the way from) | desde | Viajei desde o Algarve. |
| Bounded interval (routine, schedule) | de... a... | De segunda a sexta. |
| Emphatic time stretch | desde... até... | Desde as oito até às dez. |
| "Since" + time-point (still going on) | desde + present | Moro aqui desde 2020. |
| "Ever since" + event (temporal) | desde que + indicative | Desde que chegou, tudo mudou. |
| "As long as" / "provided that" (condition) | desde que + subjunctive | Ajudo-te desde que chegues cedo. |
| Origin of a verb's complement (gostar de, vir de) | de | Venho de casa. |
PT-PT vs. BR note
The de/desde distinction is largely the same in both varieties, but a few differences are worth noting:
- The present tense with desde is standard in both varieties: moro aqui desde 2020. Do not import an English I have been living structure into either.
- PT-PT uses the desde... até ao/à... pattern frequently (with the PT-PT até ao signature). BR often uses desde... até... without the a, or de... até...
- The idiom desde já is especially common in PT-PT formal writing. BR tends to use desde já too but less routinely.
- Brazilian Portuguese uses the present perfect (tenho + past participle) slightly more freely than PT-PT, especially in journalism, but both varieties reject tenho morado aqui desde 2020 as ungrammatical.
Common mistakes
Most errors here trace back to either (a) English transfer, especially the present perfect with since, or (b) conflating the temporal and conditional desde que.
❌ Tenho morado aqui desde 2020.
Incorrect — PT-PT uses present indicative with desde, not present perfect.
✅ Moro aqui desde 2020.
I've been living here since 2020.
❌ Estou a trabalhar nesta empresa desde janeiro.
Grammatical but awkward — the present progressive is too specific for a seven-month period.
✅ Trabalho nesta empresa desde janeiro.
I've been working at this company since January.
❌ Sou desde Lisboa.
Incorrect — hometown takes de, not desde.
✅ Sou de Lisboa.
I'm from Lisbon.
❌ Ajudo-te desde que chegas a tempo.
Incorrect — 'as long as' (condition) takes the subjunctive, not indicative.
✅ Ajudo-te desde que chegues a tempo.
I'll help you as long as you arrive on time.
❌ Não a vejo há a semana passada.
Incorrect — for a specific point in the past, use desde, not há + specific date.
✅ Não a vejo desde a semana passada.
I haven't seen her since last week.
❌ O curso decorre desde outubro a junho.
Awkward — for a neutral bounded interval, use de... a...
✅ O curso decorre de outubro a junho.
The course runs from October to June.
❌ Ela tem tocado piano desde pequena.
Incorrect tense — use simple present with desde.
✅ Ela toca piano desde pequena.
She has been playing piano since she was little.
The last one is particularly instructive. English learners see since she was little and reach for a continuous tense. Portuguese flat-out refuses: the present tense toca already carries the ongoing meaning.
Key takeaways
- De is the neutral, everyday preposition for origin — places, people, things, products.
- Desde emphasises the starting point and often the continuity to the present.
- For temporal "since" + time-point, PT-PT uses desde + presente indicativo: moro aqui desde 2020. No tenho + past participle.
- The pattern desde... até (ao/à)... is the PT-PT way to bracket a stretch of space or time.
- Desde que + indicative = ever since (temporal). Desde que + subjunctive = as long as / provided that (condition).
- Há + duration describes the length backward; desde + starting point names when it began. Both take the present indicative.
- Resist the English habit of pairing since with have been doing — Portuguese simply uses the present.
For the broader uses of de, see the preposition de.
Related Topics
- The Preposition deA1 — Uses of the preposition de — origin, possession, material, partitives, time, and the verbs that require it.
- The Preposition aA1 — Uses of the preposition a — direction, indirect objects, time, manner, and the crucial PT-PT até ao construction.
- 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.
- Portuguese Prepositions OverviewA1 — Introduction to Portuguese prepositions and their uses, including the obligatory contractions that set European Portuguese apart.