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In the table above (in the drop-down just above) you learned that we can combine the preposition “A” with the article “A” and the result is “À”.

That accent you see (`) is called “ACENTO GRAVE” and is placed over the letter A, exclusively.

• The result of “A” + “A” is “À”, which we call in Portuguese “A COM CRASE” o “A CRASEADO”.

You have learned that the preposition “A” can be combined with the article “A.”

• As writing “A A” would be a bit weird, in Portuguese we merge both A. The result is “À”.
• The same goes for the feminine plural article “AS”: we combine “A” (preposition) with “AS” (article) and the result is “ÀS”.

PREPOSIÇÃO	ARTIGO	RESULTADO
A	A	À
A	AS	ÀS

The preposition “A” in Portuguese is used for many situations. Here I will indicate only the main ones:

The preposition “A” indicates destination. That is why we say “IR À PRAIA”. The same use is given to the preposition “PARA” (“IR PARA A PRAIA”), “to go to the beach”. 

“IR PARA A PRAIA” is exactly the same as “IR À PRAIA”, but the first phrase is more colloquial and the second, more cultured.

• A more informal version of even “IR PARA A PRAIA” is “IR PRA PRAIA” (“PARA” +’ “A” = “PRA”).
• I insist: it is colloquial, but it is what Brazilians use most (orally).

The preposition “A” also indicates a person benefiting from an action.

• For example, if I buy flowers from my friend Rosa, the action is to “buy flowers”. The person who executes the action is me and the beneficiary is Rosa.

COMPRO FLORES À ROSA.

I buy flowers for Rosa.

If there are several people (women) who receive flowers, instead of “À” I will say “ÀS”:

COMPRO FLORES ÀS AMIGAS.

I buy flower for the friends.

The preposition “A” indicates the time, as you will learn in video #21.  Therefore, when you want to find out what time an event takes place, you ask “A QUE HORAS…? ” and you reply:

• “À UMA.” –  if the event will occur at  13:00 or  01:00.
• “ÀS…” – if the event will occur at any other time, for example, “ÀS OITO” (08:00), “ÀS ONZE” (23:00), and so on.

There are more uses of “À”, as in fixed expressions of the language, such as “À VONTADE” (= “willingly, with pleasure”, or also “freely”).

• But with the explanation you just read you already know the basics of combining the preposition “A” with the article “A”.

In Portuguese it is very common to combine the preposition with the article. It is not mandatory, but the natives do it very naturally, both orally and in writing. Combining the preposition with the article is not colloquial:  it is standard Portuguese.

• Usually prepositions are merged with defined articles (“O”, “A”, “OS”, “AS”).
• Some combinations of preposition and indefinite article (“UM”, “UMA”, “UNS”, “UMAS”) are possible, but they are not as frequent. That is why I will not include them here.

Since this is not a grammar guide, but a communication guide, I indicate  in a very general way the main uses of prepositions that are usually combined with articles in Portuguese.

You have already learned a little about this topic (the prepositions in Portuguese) in the comment of video #4.

Look at the example table:

PREPOSIÇÃO	ARTIGO	RESULTADO
DE	O	DO
EM	O	NO
A	AO	AO
PARA	O	PRO (COLOQUIAL)
POR	O	PELO

Remember that in Portuguese we mention country names with the article. It is standard language, it is not colloquial. For example, we say “O BRASIL”.

The preposition “DE” in Portuguese indicates relationship between two elements, for example, possession.  Therefore, you will say  “A CULTURA DO BRASIL” (= “A CULTURA +  DE + O BRASIL”), “Brazil’s culture”.

The preposition “EM” in Portuguese indicates fixed location (i.e. it answers the question “ONDE? “).  Therefore, you will say “MORAR NO BRASIL” (= “MORAR + EM + O BRASIL”), “to live in Brazil”.

The preposition “A” in Portuguese indicates – among others – direction, destination (i.e. it answers the question “AONDE?”, “where to?”).  Therefore, you will say “IR AO BRASIL” (= “IR + A + O BRAZIL”), “to go to Brazil”.

The preposition “PARA” in Portuguese indicates – among others – address, destination (i.e. answers the question “PARA ONDE? “).

• It is correct to use “PARA” to indicate direction, just like the preposition “A”.
• The difference between the prepositions “PARA” and “A” to indicate place (= destination) in Portuguese is that “PARA” has a more  colloquial use, while “A” is a slightly more cultured use.

Although I stated earlier that the combination of preposition and article  is NOT something typical of colloquial language, but is standard Portuguese, there is an exception. The combination of “PARA” with the article is an oral and informal use of language.

• Therefore, you will say “IR PRO BRASIL” (= “IR + PARA + O BRASIL”), “to go to Brazil”. Although it is a colloquial way of speaking, you will hear it very often in Brazil.

Do you find it confusing? Do not worry, with the following table everything will be clear.

PORTUGUÊS NORMAL: A+O / A+A	IR AO BRASIL.	IR À PRAIA.
PORTUGUÊS MAIS COLOQUIAL: PARA+O / PARA+A	IR PARA O BRASIL.	IR PARA A PRAIA.
PORTUGUÊS MUITO COLOQUIAL: PRO / PARA	IR PRO BRASIL.	IR PARA PRAIA.

The preposition “POR” in Portuguese indicates – among others – cause (i.e. answers the question “POR QUÊ?”, “why?”).  Therefore, a patriot will say  “VIVER PELO BRASIL” (= “VIVER + POR + O BRASIL”), “to live for Brazil”.  “O BRASIL” is the reason for that person’s existence.

In English we would simply say “to live for Brazil”, but in Portuguese it is easy to tell the difference:

• “VIVER PELO BRASIL” (Brazil is why someone is living, their “raison d’être” so to speak, since “POR” in Portuguese indicates the reason)
• “VIVER PARA O BRASIL” (Brazil is the motivation for all of this person’s undertakings, since “PARA” in Portuguese indicates the purpose,  among other things).

The preposition “POR” has many more uses and is often taught side to side with the preposition “PARA”.

The difference between “POR” and “PARA” in Portuguese is not difficult, but you should learn it in a systematic and timely manner… As it will happen if you enroll in the comprehensive A1 Portuguese course with webinars, where I teach you that contrast very easily in lesson #11.  

If you want to have a small preview of the contrast between “POR” and “PARA” in Portuguese, you can read the comment of video #23 of this guide.

The result of the combinations of prepositions and articles in Portuguese is as follows:

preposition	article	result
DE	O	DO
DE	A	DA
DE	OS	DOS
DE	AS	DAS
EM	O	NO
EM	A	NA
EM	OS	NOS
EM	AS	NAS
A	O	AO
A	A	À
A	OS	AOS
A	AS	ÀS
PARA	O	PRO (COLOQUIAL)
PARA	A	PRA (COLOQUIAL)
PARA	OS	PROS (COLOQUIAL)
PARA	AS	PRAS (COLOQUIAL)
POR	O	PELO
POR	A	PELA
POR	OS	PELOS
POR	AS	PELAS

It has a certain logic, right? You should get familiar with this table to understand Portuguese more easily. You should also incorporate these preposition and article fusions into your Portuguese vocabulary.