In this grammar lesson, you’ll get a basic understanding of the prepositions “em” and “de”.
Em → This is a preposition of place. It contracts with articles:
definite articles | o | a | os | as |
contracted forms | no (em+o) | na (em+a) | nos (em+os) | nas (em+as) |
Depending on the situation, em can be used either in its plain form or contracted with the article. A few examples:
Note that we typically use the plain form when referring to countries and the contracted form when referring to cities (as exemplified above with Noruega and Lisboa). However, there are several exceptions. Here’re are two examples:
De → This is a preposition of origin. It also contracts with the articles:
definite articles | o | a | os | as |
contracted forms | do (de+o) | da (de+a) | dos (e+os) | das (de+as) |
Like em, de can be used in its plain form or contracted with the article according to the same principles:
Worth reading! Here’re a couple of reads to consolidate and go beyond this lesson: