Breakdown of A farmácia fica à direita da padaria.
a padaria
the bakery
a farmácia
the pharmacy
da
of the
à
to the
a direita
the right
ficar
to be located
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Portuguese grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about A farmácia fica à direita da padaria.
Why is it fica and not é or está?
In Brazilian Portuguese, ficar is commonly used to indicate where places are located, especially when giving directions. It roughly means “is located.” You can also use está here with no change in meaning. Do not use é for physical location.
What does the à (grave accent) in à direita mean?
It marks a contraction called crase: preposition a + feminine article a (for the noun direita) = à. The set phrase à direita (to the right) is written with crase.
Where does the da in da padaria come from?
The structure is à direita de [algo] (“to the right of [something]”). The de combines with the article for the next noun:
- de + a (padaria, feminine singular) = da. For masculine it would be do (de + o), and for plurals dos/das.
Can I say A farmácia está à direita da padaria?
Yes. Está is perfectly natural. Fica is just very common in directions and when talking about where places are located.
Is A farmácia é à direita da padaria acceptable?
No. Ser is not used for physical location. Use está or fica.
Why not na direita da padaria?
For relative position, Portuguese uses à direita de. Na direita is unusual in this sense; you’ll hear it in other contexts (e.g., sports: “play on the right side”), but not for “to the right of [something].”
What changes if the reference noun is masculine or plural?
Only the contraction after de changes:
- Masculine singular: à direita do supermercado (de + o).
- Masculine plural: à direita dos prédios (de + os).
- Feminine plural: à direita das padarias (de + as). The à before direita stays the same.
How do I say “left” instead of “right”?
Use à esquerda: A farmácia fica à esquerda da padaria.
Can I drop the initial article and say Farmácia fica...?
In normal speech, keep the article: A farmácia... Dropping it sounds like a sign or a note. If you mean any pharmacy (not a specific one), use Uma farmácia fica...
Is there a difference between à direita de and do lado direito de?
Both are fine. À direita de is shorter and a bit more neutral; do lado direito de (“on the right-hand side of”) is slightly more colloquial/explicit. Example: A farmácia fica do lado direito da padaria.
Can I invert the order? For example, À direita da padaria fica a farmácia?
Yes. That order is correct and can put emphasis on the location first.
How do I talk about turning right (movement) rather than location?
For movement, both are used:
- Vire à direita.
- Vire para a direita. Your original sentence is about static location, not movement.
How should I pronounce the words?
Approximate Brazilian pronunciation:
- A farmácia: far-MÁ-see-ah (the r is a quick tap, like the tt in “butter” in American English).
- fica: FEE-kah.
- à direita: ah jee-RAY-tah (initial d before i/e sounds like “j”).
- da padaria: dah pah-dah-REE-ah (r is a quick tap).
What’s the difference between á and à?
- á (acute) marks a stressed/open “a” in a word (e.g., farmácia).
- à (grave) marks the contraction (crase) of a + a (e.g., à direita). They signal different things.
How do I type à?
- Windows: hold Alt and type 0224 on the numeric keypad → à; or use an international keyboard and press ` (grave) then a.
- Mac: Option + ` (grave), then a.
- Mobile: press and hold “a” and choose à.
Should farmácia or padaria be capitalized?
No, they’re common nouns, so lowercase in running text. Capitalize if part of a business name: a Padaria Central, a Farmácia São João.