Portuguese articles and contractions: o, a, no, do, pelo

The: o, a, os, as

Every Portuguese noun is masculine or feminine, and the word for “the” (the “definite article”) agrees with it: and for masculine nouns, and for feminine ones. Learn every noun with its article: , .

Portuguese uses “the” in some places where English doesn't: before countries (, , but has none), before nouns used in general (, Brazilian coffee is famous) and, in many regions, before first names (, ). Before a possessive it's optional in Brazil: or .

Gender	Singular	Plural	Examples
masculine			,
feminine			,

O Brasil é muito grande.Brazil is very big.
A Mariana mora no Rio.Mariana lives in Rio.

A, an, some: um, uma, uns, umas

The word for “a” or “an” (the “indefinite article”) is for masculine nouns and for feminine ones. In the plural, and mean “some” or, with numbers, “about”: (about ten minutes).

There is no article when you say what someone's job is: (I'm a nurse.) (He's a teacher.)

Gender	Singular	Plural	Examples
masculine			,
feminine			,

Eu queria um suco de laranja.I'd like an orange juice.
Tem uma farmácia aqui perto?Is there a pharmacy near here?
Minha irmã é engenheira.My sister is an engineer.

Contractions with em and de

The prepositions (in, on, at) and (of, from) join with “the” into one word. This is not optional: you always say (at the beach), never em a praia, and (near the bank), never de o banco.

With and , the contraction with is common but optional: or . With , Brazilians usually keep the words apart: .

Preposition					/
					/
					/

O celular está na mesa.The phone is on the table.
Eu moro no centro.I live in the centre.
A farmácia fica perto do metrô.The pharmacy is near the metro.
Ela é da Bahia.She's from Bahia.

Contractions with a: ao, à

The preposition (to, at) joins with to make . With it makes : the grave accent shows that two as have merged, but it sounds exactly like a single . You'll see in directions (, to the right), times (, at two) and places ().

In everyday speech Brazilians often use , shortened to , instead of for going somewhere: + is : These short forms are fine in speech and informal messages.

Preposition

(in speech)

Vire à esquerda na segunda rua.Turn left at the second street.
A reunião é às três.The meeting is at three.
Amanhã eu vou ao médico.Tomorrow I'm going to the doctor.
Vou pra casa.I'm going home. · meaning “home” has no article

Contractions with por: pelo, pela

(through, along, by, for) joins with “the” into , , , . You'll meet it in fixed phrases long before you learn all its uses: (in the morning), (by phone), (thanks for the help), (to go through the square).

Preposition

Obrigada pela ajuda.Thanks for the help. · said by a woman
A gente pode falar pelo telefone.We can talk on the phone.
O ônibus passa pela praça.The bus goes through the square.