Portuguese Lesson 4 - Prepositions and Directions

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This first lesson teaches many important aspect of Portuguese like prepositions, vocabulary list about directions and finally common phrases about how to introduce yourself. I will try to give examples using both vocabulary and grammar. That way it will be easy for you to see the words when they are separate and when they are in a sentence. Going through the whole page should take about 30 min. Make sure to read the pronunciation and hear the audio as well. If you have any question about this course, please email me directly at Portuguese Classes.

Prepositions

Prepositions are used in almost every sentence. They can be a great tool to link words with each other. For example by simply knowing how to use "to", "with", "from", "after" you can expand your conversation scope. In short, a preposition describes a relationship between words in a sentence, for example: I agree with you.

Below is a list of 27 prepositions that you might come across or use very often. The table contains 3 columns (English, Portuguese, and Audio). Make sure you repeat each word after hearing it by either clicking on the audio button or by reading the pronunciation. That should help with memorization as well as improving your pronunciation.

Prepositions List in Portuguese

Prepositions	Portuguese	Audio
In front of	em frente de
Behind	atrás de
Before	antes
After	depois
Inside	dentro de
With	com
Without	sem
Outside	fora de
On top of	em cima de
Under	debaixo de
About (in regards to)	sobre
Against	contra
And	e
As (similar to)	como
Between	entre
But	mas
For	para
From	de
In	em
Instead of	em vez de
Near	perto
Of	de
Or	ou
Since	desde
So	então
To	para
Until	até

Now we will try to implement some of the prepositions above into full Portuguese sentences. That way you will be able to use the word not only by itself but embedded in a structure.

Portuguese Prepositions in a Sentence

English	Portuguese	Audio
Can I practice Italian with you?	Posso praticar o italiano contigo?
I speak French but with an accent	Eu falo francês mas com pronúncia
I was born in Miami	Nasci em Miami
I'm from Japan	Sou do Japão
The letter is inside the book	A carta está dentro do livro
The pen is under the desk	A caneta está debaixo da mesa
Directions
Can I help you?	Posso ajudá-lo(a)?

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact me If you simply want to ask a question, please Portuguese contact form on the header above.

Vocabulary List about Directions

Below is a list of 28 words and sentences related to directions that you might need when lost or asking for help. If you can memorize them by heart, you will be able to travel from point A to point B by following directions.

Giving Directions in Portuguese

Directions	Portuguese	Audio
Can you help me?	Pode ajudar-me? (PT) / Você pode me ajudar? (BR)
Can you show me?	Pode indicar-me / indicar-nos?
Come with me!	Venha(m) comigo!
Downtown (city center)	Baixa (centro da cidade)
Excuse me! (to ask someone)	Desculpe!
Go straight	Siga(m) em frente
How can I get to the museum?	Como é que se vai para o museu?
How long does it take to get there?	Quanto tempo leva a chegar lá?
I'm lost	Estou perdido(a)
I'm not from here	Não sou de cá
It's far from here	É longe daqui
It's near here	É perto daqui
One moment please!	Um momento, por favor!
Turn left	Vire(m) à esquerda
Turn right	Vire(m) à direita
Far	Longe
Here	Cá / Aqui
Left	Esquerda
Right	Direita
Near	Perto
Straight	Em frente
There	Lá / Ali
To drive	Conduzir
To turn	Virar
To walk	Andar
Traffic light	Semáforo
Transportation	Transporte

Daily Conversation in Portuguese

Finally, a couple sentences to help you know how to introduce yourself in Portuguese. For a complete list of commonly used sentences, please visit our Portuguese Phrases page. Enjoy!

Common Expressions in Portuguese

English	Portuguese	Audio
Do you speak English?	Falas inglês?
Just a little	Só um pouco
What's your name?	Como te chamas?
My name is (John Doe)	Chamo-me (John Doe) / O meu nome é (John Doe)
Mr... / Mrs. ... / Miss...	Senhor... / Senhora... / Menina...
Nice to meet you!	Prazer em conhecer-te!
You're very kind!	És muito amável!

Fun Facts

Language Quote: The language of a society changes slowly but steadily with the result that an educated person will not be able to read or understand words in his language written 500 years ago. Do you feel like you can't talk to your parents? Maybe it's because you belong to the Niger-Congo family. More than 1,400 languages are spoken by different members of this family from Africa..

Congratulations! You finished your 4th lesson in Portuguese about prepositions, and directions. Are you ready for the next lesson? We recommend Portuguese Lesson 5. You can also simply click on one of the links below or go back to our Learn Portuguese homepage.

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