The preposition em is Portuguese's all-purpose marker of static location and time. It covers ground that English splits across three prepositions — in, on, and at — and that Spanish covers with en. Where English carefully differentiates in the house, at home, and on the table, Portuguese is perfectly happy to use em for all three. Once you accept that em is the default preposition of place, a huge swath of everyday Portuguese becomes predictable.
This page also covers a handful of things em does not do in European Portuguese — especially the fact that em is never used for movement toward a place (that's a or para), and almost never used for means of transport (that's de).
Location: in, on, and at
The core use of em is to say where something is or where something is happening. It covers the inside of a container, the surface of an object, and the general "at a place" meaning.
As chaves estão em cima da mesa, ao lado do jornal.
The keys are on the table, next to the newspaper.
Os miúdos estão no parque a jogar à bola.
The kids are at the park playing football.
Tenho vinte euros na carteira.
I have twenty euros in my wallet.
Each of those three English sentences uses a different preposition (on, at, in), but every Portuguese sentence uses em (with its contracted forms no, na). Portuguese simply carries less spatial detail in the preposition itself; context does the rest.
Countries, cities, and regions
Em is the standard preposition for being in or at a geographical place. It contracts when the country or region takes an article.
Vivo em Lisboa há três anos, mas sou do Porto.
I've been living in Lisbon for three years, but I'm from Porto.
O encontro vai ser em Coimbra no próximo sábado.
The meeting will be in Coimbra next Saturday.
A minha irmã está na Alemanha a estudar medicina.
My sister is in Germany studying medicine.
Notice that Portugal itself does not take an article — em Portugal, not no Portugal — but Brazil, the USA, France, and many other countries do: no Brasil, nos Estados Unidos, na França (though Portugal usually says em França for this particular country, an old habit). Learn each country with its article.
At buildings and places
Em also handles the English at in phrases about workplaces, schools, and institutions. In European Portuguese, common nouns for places are almost always preceded by an article, which triggers the contraction.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| em casa | at home |
| no trabalho | at work |
| na escola | at school |
| no escritório | at the office |
| no hospital | at the hospital |
| na praia | at the beach |
| no supermercado | at the supermarket |
| no aeroporto | at the airport |
Estou em casa, mas daqui a pouco vou para o escritório.
I'm at home, but I'm heading to the office soon.
Encontramo-nos no café em frente à estação.
Let's meet at the café opposite the station.
Notice the expression em casa. Alone, it drops the article entirely and means at home. With a possessor, it takes the usual contractions: em casa da Maria (at Maria's house), no meu quarto (in my room).
Time
Em also covers several common time expressions. The pattern is less systematic than the location uses — you have to memorize which expressions take em and which take a or de.
Years, months, centuries
Use em to locate an event in a year, a month, or a century.
Nasci em 1998, em março.
I was born in 1998, in March.
A torre foi construída no século catorze.
The tower was built in the fourteenth century.
Days of the week and parts of the day
In European Portuguese, days of the week take em (contracted with the article), unlike Spanish which uses el sábado without a preposition and unlike casual Brazilian Portuguese which sometimes drops the preposition entirely.
No sábado vamos jantar fora, queres vir?
We're eating out on Saturday, do you want to come?
Na segunda-feira tenho uma reunião muito cedo.
I have an early meeting on Monday.
No verão costumo ir para o Algarve.
In summer I usually go to the Algarve.
Seasons (o verão, o outono, o inverno, a primavera) all take contracted em when used in time expressions.
Duration in the future
Em also answers the question how long from now? — the English in as in I'll be there in ten minutes.
Estou aí em dez minutos, estou quase a chegar.
I'll be there in ten minutes, I'm almost there.
Em dois dias o relatório tem de estar pronto.
The report has to be ready in two days.
Regresso de férias em agosto.
I'll be back from holiday in August.
Do not confuse this with há (ago, for past time) or dentro de (within — also meaning in X time, often interchangeable with em).
State and condition
Em introduces many nouns that describe the state someone or something is in. These expressions are idiomatic — you have to learn them as fixed pairings.
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| em silêncio | in silence |
| em apuros | in trouble |
| em risco | at risk |
| em paz | at peace |
| em guerra | at war |
| em branco | blank |
| em segredo | secretly, in secret |
| em boa forma | in good shape |
A miúda está em apuros com os pais por ter chegado tarde.
The girl is in trouble with her parents for getting home late.
Ficámos em silêncio durante toda a viagem.
We stayed silent for the whole trip.
Why Portuguese does not use em for transport
This is the most important contrast with both English and Spanish. To say you travel by a means of transport, Portuguese uses de, not em.
Vou para o trabalho de autocarro todos os dias.
I go to work by bus every day.
O Pedro veio de comboio desde Lisboa.
Pedro came by train from Lisbon.
Preferes viajar de avião ou de carro?
Do you prefer to travel by plane or by car?
Spanish says en autobús, en tren, en avión. Portuguese says de autocarro, de comboio, de avião. This is a systematic difference that trips up Spanish speakers learning Portuguese for years.
The only exception is a pé (on foot), which uses a, not de or em: vou a pé para o trabalho (I walk to work). Bicycle usage is also special: de bicicleta is the standard form, though you will occasionally hear em bicicleta or the Anglicism de bike in casual speech.
The full contraction chart
Em contracts with more classes of word than any other preposition except de. Here is the complete chart.
| em + … | Contracted form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| o / a / os / as | no / na / nos / nas | no jardim, na praia |
| um / uma / uns / umas | num / numa / nuns / numas | num café |
| este / esta / estes / estas | neste / nesta / nestes / nestas | nesta cidade |
| esse / essa / esses / essas | nesse / nessa / nesses / nessas | nessa altura |
| aquele / aquela / aqueles / aquelas | naquele / naquela / naqueles / naquelas | naquele dia |
| ele / ela / eles / elas | nele / nela / neles / nelas | confio nele |
| isto / isso / aquilo | nisto / nisso / naquilo | nisso concordamos |
Nunca pensei nisso antes, mas tens razão.
I never thought about that before, but you're right.
Naquele verão, conhecemo-nos na praia.
That summer, we met at the beach.
Não confio nele, já me mentiu antes.
I don't trust him, he's lied to me before.
All the contractions with definite articles, demonstratives, and the pronouns ele/ela/eles/elas are obligatory. The contractions with um/uma/uns/umas (num, numa) are also obligatory in standard writing — unlike de, which accepts both dum and de um. In European Portuguese you must write num café, never em um café.
Em versus a: location versus direction
One of the persistent sources of confusion for Spanish speakers and for learners coming from Brazilian Portuguese is the em / a distinction. The rule is clean:
- Em = location. Where something is or where something happens.
- A = direction. Movement toward a place (especially a short visit).
- Para = destination. Movement toward a place, with the sense of going to stay.
| Location (em) | Direction (a) |
|---|---|
| Estou em Lisboa. | Vou a Lisboa. |
| A minha filha está na escola. | A minha filha vai à escola. |
| Estamos no café. | Vamos ao café. |
Estou no restaurante à tua espera — quando chegas?
I'm at the restaurant waiting for you — when are you arriving?
Vou ao restaurante às oito, encontramo-nos lá.
I'm heading to the restaurant at eight, we'll meet there.
Using em for direction is a marker of Brazilian Portuguese (vou em Lisboa) that sounds wrong in the Portuguese of Portugal. If you are writing or speaking PT-PT, always use a or para for movement.
Verbs that take em
A smaller but important set of Portuguese verbs requires em before their complement. The logic is often about mental or emotional engagement with something.
| Verb + em | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pensar em | to think about |
| acreditar em | to believe in |
| confiar em | to trust |
| apostar em | to bet on |
| insistir em | to insist on |
| concordar em | to agree on |
| tocar em | to touch (lightly) |
| mexer em | to mess with, to touch |
Estou sempre a pensar em ti.
I'm always thinking about you.
Não mexas nisso, pode partir-se.
Don't mess with that, it might break.
Acredito em ti, sei que vais conseguir.
I believe in you, I know you'll manage.
Note that pensar em (to think about) is different from pensar de (to have an opinion of): O que pensas do novo filme? (What do you think of the new film?) versus Estou a pensar no filme (I'm thinking about the film). The distinction is subtle but real.
Common mistakes
❌ Vou em Lisboa no sábado.
Incorrect — em does not mark direction in PT-PT (this is a Brazilianism).
✅ Vou a Lisboa no sábado.
I'm going to Lisbon on Saturday.
❌ Gosto de viajar em comboio.
Incorrect — transport takes de, not em.
✅ Gosto de viajar de comboio.
I like traveling by train.
❌ Vivo em um apartamento pequeno.
Incorrect — em + um obligatorily contracts to num.
✅ Vivo num apartamento pequeno.
I live in a small apartment.
❌ Penso muito sobre ti.
Mostly incorrect — pensar takes em for the object of thought.
✅ Penso muito em ti.
I think about you a lot.
❌ Estou em escola agora.
Incorrect — European Portuguese uses the article with common nouns.
✅ Estou na escola agora.
I'm at school right now.
Key takeaways
- Em covers location (in, on, at), time (years, months, days, seasons), state, and mental engagement (pensar em, acreditar em).
- Contractions with definite and indefinite articles, demonstratives, and pronouns are obligatory in writing.
- Portuguese does not use em for transport — use de (de carro, de comboio, de avião) or a pé for walking.
- Portuguese does not use em for direction — use a (short trip) or para (moving to stay).
- The expression em casa drops the article and means at home.
Next, learn about the preposition a, which handles direction, indirect objects, and the distinctive PT-PT até ao construction.
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 aA1 — Uses of the preposition a — direction, indirect objects, time, manner, and the crucial PT-PT até ao construction.
- The Preposition paraA1 — Uses of the preposition para — purpose, destination, recipient, deadline, comparison, and the para vs. por distinction.