def article: contractions

Portuguese Grammar: Preposition + Article Contractions

In Brazilian Portuguese, it is mandatory and very common to combine certain prepositions with definite articles (o, os, a, as - meaning "the") to form a single word. This process is called a contraction.

1. The Preposition A (to, at)

When the preposition a fuses with definite articles, it simply attaches to the masculine articles. For the feminine articles, it merges into a single "a" and receives a grave accent (called crase) to indicate the contraction.

• a + o = ao (to the - masculine singular)
• a + os = aos (to the - masculine plural)
• a + a = à (to the - feminine singular)
• a + as = às (to the - feminine plural)

Examples:

• Nós vamos ao cinema. (We are going to the movie theater.)
• Eu dou o livro à professora. (I give the book to the teacher.)

2. The Preposition De (of, from)

The preposition de drops its vowel and reduces to a d- stem before combining with the articles.

• de + o = do (of/from the - masculine singular)
• de + os = dos (of/from the - masculine plural)
• de + a = da (of/from the - feminine singular)
• de + as = das (of/from the - feminine plural)

Examples:

• Ele é do Brasil. (He is from Brazil.)
• A cor da casa é azul. (The color of the house is blue.)

3. The Preposition Em (in, on, at)

The preposition em changes completely into an n- stem when combining with articles.

• em + o = no (in/on the - masculine singular)
• em + os = nos (in/on the - masculine plural)
• em + a = na (in/on the - feminine singular)
• em + as = nas (in/on the - feminine plural)

Examples:

• O gato está no telhado. (The cat is on the roof.)
• Ela mora na cidade. (She lives in the city.)

4. The Preposition Por (for, by, through)

The preposition por transforms into a pel- stem to combine with the definite articles.

• por + o = pelo (by/through the - masculine singular)
• por + os = pelos (by/through the - masculine plural)
• por + a = pela (by/through the - feminine singular)
• por + as = pelas (by/through the - feminine plural)

Examples:

• Nós andamos pelo parque. (We walk through the park.)
• O bolo foi feito pela minha mãe. (The cake was made by my mom.)