Prepositions of Place: em, a, para, de, por, sobre, entre, junto a | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Describing space in Portuguese feels different from English from the very first sentence. Where English insists on distinguishing in, on, and at, Portuguese is happy to use em for all three, letting context sort out whether the book is in the drawer, on the table, or at the office. Where English uses one preposition for motion (to) and one for location (at), Portuguese forces a triple choice between a, para, and em — and gets the semantic texture of each. Vou a Lisboa is a weekend trip, vou para Lisboa is a move, estou em Lisboa is standing there.

This page walks through every major spatial relation — location, motion, origin, passage, proximity, containment — and shows which Portuguese preposition or compound fills each slot. Along the way it flags the PT-PT preferences and the traps that catch English speakers transferring word by word.

Static location (in / on / at)

The default preposition for being somewhere is em. Portuguese does not split the "in / on / at" semantic space the way English does — one word does most of the work.

A Ana está no escritório até às sete.

Ana is at the office until seven.

As chaves estão na mesa da entrada.

The keys are on the table by the entrance.

O gato está dentro do armário outra vez.

The cat is inside the wardrobe again.

Notice how the first example uses em for "at", the second for "on", and the third falls back on dentro de when the speaker wants to emphasize the containment. That pattern — em as the default, compound prepositions for emphasis — runs through the whole system.

English	Portuguese	Notes
in / at / on	em	Default for static location
on (flat surface)	em / em cima de / sobre	em is casual, em cima de emphasizes surface, sobre is formal
inside (emphasized)	dentro de	Emphasizes containment
at (a place)	em (no/na)	Estar em Lisboa, na escola, no trabalho

Vivo em Lisboa há três anos, mas trabalho no Porto.

I've lived in Lisbon for three years, but I work in Porto.

O documento está na pasta azul, em cima da secretária.

The document is in the blue folder, on top of the desk.

Em versus sobre for "on"

Sobre means "on" in the sense of resting on top of a surface, but it is more formal and more literary than plain em. In speech, no one says o livro está sobre a mesa. They say o livro está em cima da mesa, or even more naturally o livro está na mesa. Save sobre for writing, and especially for the abstract "about" meaning (um livro sobre a guerra civil, "a book about the civil war").

Sobre a mesa repousava um antigo manuscrito.

On the table lay an ancient manuscript. (literary)

O livro está em cima da mesa, ao lado da janela.

The book is on top of the table, next to the window. (everyday)

Motion toward (to)

For movement toward a place, Portuguese chooses between a and para, with the distinction turning on how long you plan to stay.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
a	to (short trip, visit, errand)	vou ao supermercado
para	to (extended stay, relocation, one-way)	vou para o Canadá
em	NOT used for motion in PT-PT	❌ vou em Lisboa

Vou a Lisboa no fim de semana para ver uma exposição.

I'm going to Lisbon for the weekend to see an exhibition. (short trip)

A minha irmã vai para Berlim no mês que vem, para trabalhar lá durante dois anos.

My sister is going to Berlin next month, to work there for two years. (extended stay)

Vamos ao café, estou com sede.

Let's go to the café, I'm thirsty. (short)

The a / para split is one of the clearest places where Portuguese forces a distinction English merges. If you hesitate, ask yourself: is this a visit (you'll come back soon) or a move? A for visits, para for moves. Both use the contracted forms (ao, à, aos, às / para o, para a, para os, para as) when a definite article is present.

Never use em for motion in PT-PT. Brazilian Portuguese permits vou em Lisboa in casual speech, but European Portuguese does not — it will sound wrong. Em is static. A and para are directional.

Motion from (from)

For movement away from a place — origin, departure, or source — Portuguese uses de, with desde available for emphasis.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
de	from, out of	venho do escritório
desde	from (emphatic — marks the long span)	viajei desde Lisboa até Faro

Saí de casa às oito e ainda não voltei.

I left home at eight and I haven't come back yet.

O comboio parte do Oriente às nove.

The train leaves from Oriente at nine.

Viajámos desde o Algarve até Braga num único dia.

We drove from the Algarve all the way up to Braga in a single day.

Desde is used when you want to highlight the full extent of the journey or span — "all the way from". For ordinary departures, plain de is what you want.

Through / via

For passage through, across, or by way of a place, Portuguese uses por — almost always in its contracted forms pelo, pela, pelos, pelas.

Passei pelo parque a caminho de casa.

I passed through the park on the way home.

Entrámos pela porta principal, que estava aberta.

We went in through the main door, which was open.

O autocarro passa pela rua da Prata de dez em dez minutos.

The bus goes through Rua da Prata every ten minutes.

Por is also the preposition for movement across a surface or territory without a specific endpoint: andar pela cidade ("to wander around the city"), correr pela praia ("to run along the beach").

Between / among

Entre covers both "between (two)" and "among (many)". Portuguese does not distinguish the two the way English does.

A cidade fica entre Lisboa e Évora, quase a meio caminho.

The town is between Lisbon and Évora, almost halfway.

Entre todos os colegas, é a mais experiente.

Among all the colleagues, she's the most experienced.

Esta questão fica entre nós, por favor.

This matter stays between us, please.

Next to / beside / near

Portuguese has several compound prepositions for proximity, with slightly different textures.

Compound	Meaning	Usage
ao lado de	next to, beside	The everyday workhorse
junto a	right next to, adjacent to	Emphasizes physical contact or immediate proximity
junto de	beside (a person, or with a person)	Often used with animate beings
perto de	near, close to	General proximity without contact
próximo de	close to	Slightly more formal than perto de
ao pé de	right next to (colloquial PT-PT)	Very Portuguese

Senta-te ao lado do teu irmão, se faz favor.

Sit next to your brother, please.

Vivo perto da estação, a dez minutos a pé.

I live near the station, ten minutes on foot.

Ele ficou junto dos filhos durante toda a cerimónia.

He stayed beside his children throughout the whole ceremony.

Há uma pastelaria ao pé da minha casa.

There's a pastry shop right next to my house. (PT-PT colloquial)

Ao pé de is a particularly Portuguese idiom. Brazilian Portuguese uses perto de or ao lado de for the same idea. If you want your Portuguese to sound distinctly European, work ao pé de into your speech.

In front of / opposite

For "in front of" and "opposite", Portuguese has several options, with a subtle split between literal facing and figurative ahead-ness.

Compound	Meaning
em frente de	opposite, in front of (PT-PT preferred)
em frente a	facing (also acceptable)
à frente de	ahead of (can be figurative)
diante de	before, in front of (literary)
perante	before, in the presence of (formal)

A minha casa é em frente da igreja, do outro lado do largo.

My house is opposite the church, on the other side of the square.

O João ia à frente de nós no trilho, sempre com o mapa na mão.

João was ahead of us on the trail, always with the map in hand.

Perante o juiz, ninguém se atreveu a mentir.

Before the judge, no one dared to lie. (formal)

As noted in the compound prepositions page, PT-PT prefers em frente de over em frente a, though both are grammatical.

Behind

Compound	Meaning
atrás de	behind (the everyday choice)
detrás de	behind (colloquial PT-PT, regional)
por trás de	behind (often figurative or with passing motion)
nas costas de	behind someone's back (figurative)

O gato está escondido atrás do sofá.

The cat is hiding behind the couch.

Por trás daquela decisão, havia interesses políticos.

Behind that decision, there were political interests.

On top of / above

Compound	Meaning	Nuance
em cima de	on top of	Surface contact; everyday
sobre	on (formal); about (topic)	Literary or abstract
por cima de	over, above (with passage)	Something crossing over
acima de	above (elevation, hierarchy)	Higher than, not touching

Põe o livro em cima da mesa, se faz favor.

Put the book on top of the table, please.

O avião passou por cima dos telhados da cidade.

The plane passed over the rooftops of the city.

A temperatura está acima da média para esta época do ano.

The temperature is above average for this time of year.

Below / under

Compound	Meaning	Nuance
debaixo de	underneath	The everyday choice
por baixo de	underneath, below (with passage or emphasis)	Motion through below
sob	under (literary / formal)	Rarely spoken
abaixo de	below (elevation, hierarchy)	Lower than

Deixei os sapatos debaixo da cama, como sempre.

I left the shoes under the bed, as always.

A temperatura desceu abaixo dos zero graus durante a noite.

The temperature dropped below zero during the night.

Sob o céu estrelado, dormimos na areia.

Under the starry sky, we slept on the sand. (literary)

Sob is the literary single-word equivalent of debaixo de. You will read it in novels and newspapers but rarely hear it in conversation.

Inside

Compound	Meaning
dentro de	inside (everyday)
no interior de	inside (formal / technical)

Os documentos estão dentro da gaveta, no segundo nível.

The documents are inside the drawer, on the second level.

No interior do edifício, descobriram frescos do século XVI.

Inside the building, they discovered 16th-century frescoes. (formal)

Dentro de also has a temporal use: dentro de uma hora = "in an hour (from now)".

Outside

Compound	Meaning
fora de	outside of, out of
no exterior de	outside (formal)
do lado de fora	on the outside

Vivo fora de Lisboa, numa aldeia a trinta quilómetros.

I live outside Lisbon, in a village thirty kilometres away.

A gata dorme do lado de fora da porta.

The cat sleeps on the outside of the door.

Around

Compound	Meaning	Register
à volta de	around (everyday PT-PT)	Neutral, very common
em volta de	around	Neutral
ao redor de	around, surrounding	Slightly literary
em redor de	around	Literary
em torno de	around (often figurative)	Abstract, topical

Sentámo-nos à volta da fogueira a cantar até tarde.

We sat around the fire singing until late.

Toda a discussão gira em torno do orçamento.

The whole discussion revolves around the budget. (figurative)

Across / through (on the other side of)

Compound	Meaning
através de	through (penetration or passage)
do outro lado de	on the other side of
atravessando	crossing (gerund, not a preposition)

A luz entra através das janelas da sala logo pela manhã.

Light comes in through the living-room windows first thing in the morning.

A padaria fica do outro lado da rua, em frente ao banco.

The bakery is on the other side of the street, opposite the bank.

Far / near

Compound	Meaning
perto de	near
próximo de	close to
junto de	beside, right by
ao pé de	right next to (PT-PT)
longe de	far from
distante de	distant from
afastado de	located far from, set back from

Moramos longe do centro, mas perto da linha do comboio.

We live far from the centre, but close to the train line.

A casa fica afastada da estrada, escondida no meio dos pinheiros.

The house is set back from the road, hidden among the pines.

Some PT-PT vocabulary quirks

A few pieces of spatial vocabulary are distinctly European Portuguese and worth noting:

PT-PT	BR equivalent	Meaning
casa de banho	banheiro	bathroom
autocarro	ônibus	bus
comboio	trem	train
peão / passeio	pedestre / calçada	pedestrian / sidewalk
ao pé de	perto de / do lado de	right next to

A casa de banho é ao fundo do corredor, à direita.

The bathroom is at the end of the corridor, on the right.

Apanha o autocarro número 28 na paragem ao pé do Rossio.

Catch the number 28 bus at the stop right next to Rossio.

Left and right

For directional orientation, Portuguese uses à with direita and esquerda:

Vira à esquerda no próximo semáforo, depois segue em frente.

Turn left at the next traffic light, then keep going straight.

A minha secretária fica à direita da porta.

My desk is to the right of the door.

Common mistakes

❌ Vou em Lisboa amanhã.

Incorrect — em is static, not directional. Use a or para.

✅ Vou a Lisboa amanhã.

I'm going to Lisbon tomorrow.

❌ Estou a Lisboa há três dias.

Incorrect — location uses em, not a.

✅ Estou em Lisboa há três dias.

I've been in Lisbon for three days.

❌ O livro está sobre a mesa.

Technically grammatical, but stylistically off — too formal for speech.

✅ O livro está em cima da mesa.

The book is on top of the table.

❌ Fomos até o Porto de comboio.

Incorrect in PT-PT — até must contract with o.

✅ Fomos até ao Porto de comboio.

We went to Porto by train.

❌ A padaria está ao lado o banco.

Incorrect — ao lado requires de, contracted with o to do.

✅ A padaria está ao lado do banco.

The bakery is next to the bank.

❌ Vou para o café beber um galão.

Odd — para implies a long stay, which a café doesn't warrant.

✅ Vou ao café beber um galão.

I'm going to the café for a milky coffee.

❌ Vivo perto o centro da cidade.

Incorrect — perto requires de.

✅ Vivo perto do centro da cidade.

I live near the city centre.

❌ A chave está dentro o bolso.

Incorrect — dentro requires de, contracted to do.

✅ A chave está dentro do bolso.

The key is inside my pocket.

Decision guide for spatial prepositions

You want to say...	Use
I'm at / in / on [place] (static)	em
I'm going to [place] (visit)	a
I'm going to [place] (move)	para
I'm coming from [place]	de
I'm going through [place]	por / pela / pelo
On top of [surface]	em cima de
Inside [container]	dentro de
Under [object]	debaixo de
Behind [object]	atrás de
In front of / opposite	em frente de (PT-PT)
Next to	ao lado de / ao pé de
Near / far	perto de / longe de
Around [object]	à volta de
Between [two things]	entre
To the right / left of	à direita / esquerda de
Until [endpoint]	até (ao/à)

Key takeaways

Portuguese spatial grammar rests on three pillars. First, em is the default static preposition, covering in, on, and at; you reach for a compound preposition only when the spatial relationship needs emphasis. Second, motion splits three ways: a for visits, para for moves, and de for origins — and never em for motion in PT-PT. Third, compound prepositions always require their closing de or a, and that closing preposition almost always contracts with the following article.

The PT-PT specifics to watch are the até ao / até à contraction (never até o), the preference for em frente de over em frente a, the colloquial ao pé de for "right next to", and the everyday PT-PT vocabulary (casa de banho, autocarro, comboio) that signals you are speaking European rather than Brazilian Portuguese. Master these, and your descriptions of space will read as natural rather than translated.