Prepositions of time are used before times, dates, and other nouns to create phrases that describe when something takes place. The most common prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese are a meaning at, de meaning of, from, em meaning on, in, at, para meaning to, por meaning for, desde meaning since, and até meaning until.
In this post, we’ll review the most commonly-used prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese, and discuss their forms and when to use each one. We’ll also discuss some compound prepositions of time like antes de meaning before and depois de meaning after. Curious to know more? Keep reading!
What are the prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese?
The most important prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese are a meaning at, de meaning of, from, em meaning in, para meaning to, por meaning for, desde meaning since, and até meaning until.
How to use ‘a’ as a preposition of time in Brazilian Portuguese?
We use the preposition a meaning at to introduce the exact time of the day (e.g. “at 3:00”), to introduce periods of the day (e.g. “at night”), or to introduce recurring days of the week (e.g. “on Wednesdays”).
a + exact time of day:
When it introduces an exact time, a most often appears as às meaning at the. Às is the contraction of the preposition a with the feminine plural definite article as meaning the. We usually use this contraction before times of day because the definite article as comes before times on the clock, where it agrees with the feminine plural noun horas meaning hours.
Eu acordo às seis horas.Translation: I wake up at six o’clock.a + period of the day:
We also use the preposition a to refer to the periods of the day:
- Ele estuda à noite.Translation: He studies at night.
- Ele lê à tarde.Translation: He reads in the afternoon.
a + recurring days of the week:
The preposition of time a is used before the plural form of a day of the week, to describe actions that recur on the same day.
- Eu estudo português às segundas-feiras.Translation: I study Portuguese on Mondays.
- Eu faço pilates aos sábados.Translation: I do pilates on Saturdays.
If the action is not recurring, we use the preposition em instead of a, as in:
Na segunda eu estudei para o meu exame de português.Translation: On Monday I studied for my Portuguese exam.
How to use ‘de’ as a preposition of time in Brazilian Portuguese?
In Brazilian Portuguese, we use de meaning of, from inside the date, and in the combination de…a… meaning from...to... to describe a duration.
de in dates:
We use de inside phrases that describe the date, placing de both before the month and before the year.
Hoje é 20 de janeiro de 2020.Translation: Today is 20 of January of 2020.de…a… meaning from…to…:
We can also use the combination de…a… meaning from…to… to indicate the duration of something.
As crianças terão férias de junho a agosto.Translation: The kids are going to be on vacation from June to August.If you use de…a… meaning from…to… with times of day, you’ll often need to use the contractions of de and a.
Nós trabalhamos das 8h às 17h.Translation: We work from 8h to 17h.de + as = das / a + as = às
How to use ‘em’ as a preposition of time?
The preposition of time em meaning on, in, at – and its contractions no, na, nos, nas meaning in the — is used to introduce exact dates (including holidays and days of the week), and in phrases that describe something that took place during a month, year, century, decade, or season. We also use em to give estimations of how long something will take.
em + exact date / precise day:
Use em to introduce an exact date.
O meu aniversário é em 25 de janeiro.Translation: My birthday is on the 25th of January.As we mentioned above, you also use em before a day of the week, if the action doesn’t regularly happen on the same day.
Na segunda eu estudei para o meu exame de português.Translation: On Monday I studied for my Portuguese exam.em + a = naYou can also use em before holidays:
Minha família vai se reunir na Páscoa.Translation: My family will gather at Easter.em + longer period:
Use em + time period to describe actions or situations that existed sometime during a period longer than a day. This could mean that it took place during a month, year, season, decade, or century, but it could also mean that it took place during a long holiday or some other extended time period.
You will use the uncontracted form, em, before months and years.
- em marçoTranslation: in March
- em 2022Translation: in 2022
But in other cases you will need to use a contracted form of em. Don’t forget to check the gender and number of the noun to use the correct contraction!
- Eu nasci em 1990, no século XX.Translation: Eu nasci em 1990, no século XX.em + o = no
- Vamos ao Brasil nas férias.Translation: We are going to Brazil on vacation.
- Eles adoram ir à praia no verão.Translation: They love to go to the beach in the summer.
em + estimated amount of time:
Much like “in” in English, we can also use the preposition em to indicate an estimated amount of time:
A pizza será entregue em 20 minutos.Translation: The pizza will be delivered in 20 minutes.
How to use ‘para’ as a preposition of time?
Para meaning to, for is used as a preposition of time to express deadlines.
- O vencimento é para segunda-feira.Translation: The due date is for Monday.
- O relatório é para amanhã.Translation: The report is for tomorrow.
It can also be used, when giving the time of day, to introduce the number of minutes remaining until the next hour:
How to use ‘por’ as a preposition of time?
We use the preposition of time por meaning for to introduce a length of time or to approximate the time.
por + length of time:
Use por + length of time like you would use “for” + length of time in English:
Pedro alugou um carro por uma semana.Translation: Pedro rented a car for a week.You can also use the preposition durante meaning during to do the same thing:
Pedro alugou um carro durante uma semana.Translation: Pedro rented a car for a week.por to approximate the time:
We can also use por before an approximate time or as an equivalent to “sometime during” in English. In this case, we have to use the contractions of por and the definite articles: pelo, pelos, pela, pelas, depending on the gender and number of the following noun.
- A reunião acabará pelas onze horas.Translation: The meeting will end more-or-less at eleven.por + as = pelas
- A aula acabará pela tarde.Translation: The class will end sometime during the afternoon.por + a = pela
How to use the preposition of time ‘desde’?
The preposition of time desde meaning since introduces a time that represents the start of an action or situation that continues to the present. You can use desde with any period of time, such as days, months, and years.
How to use the preposition of time ‘até’?
The preposition of time até meaning until is used to indicate the end of an action at a particular time.
How to use ‘antes de’ and ‘depois de’ in Brazilian Portuguese?
Antes de and depois de mean “before” and “after” in Brazilian Portuguese. Both of these are considered “compound prepositions” because they are made of more than one word.
- Ele toma chá antes de dormir.Translation: He drinks tea before going to bed.
- Ele vai à academia depois de trabalhar.Translation: He goes to the gym after work.
In summary
In this post, we reviewed the prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese and how to use them:
a meaning at → exact time of day / period of the day / recurring day of the week
de meaning from, of → within dates / de…a for a period of time
em meaning on, in, at → exact dates / periods of time (months, years, centuries, seasons,...) / estimated amount of time
para meaning for → deadlines
por meaning for → length of time / approximate time
desde meaning from, since
até meaning from, since
antes de meaning before
depois de meaning after
To practice using prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese, check out our activities!
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