Portuguese Contractions

ContraçõesContractions Slow audio Play audio Noun, Plural, Feminine are simply the result of merging two words into one. In English, this includes words like I’m (I + am), you’re (you + are), we’ll (we + will), etc. With Portuguese contractions, however, it typically happens when certain prepositions are combined with certain other types of words.

Which Words Form Contractions in Portuguese?

When these words…

• definite articles (o, a, os, as)
• indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)
• demonstratives (este, esse, isto, aquele, etc.)
• certain pronouns (eles, elas, vocês, mim, ti, si, nós, algum, etc.)
• certain adverbs (aqui, aí, ali, etc.)

… are preceded by the prepositions below, sometimes a contraction is formed. Here are the general rules for contracting with each preposition:

• em – Add the letter n to the other word (em + o = no).
• de – Add the letter d to the other word (de + o = do).
• a – The words are merged into one (a + os = aos) with no deletions, or, if it’s merged with a word beginning with a, it simply gets a grave accent (à).
• por – To contract with definite articles, add pel- before the article.
• para – To contract with articles, add pr- before the article. Contractions with para are more informal and are generally only used in spoken language. You may see them in informal written communication such as texts or emails, though.
• com – Forms contractions with certain pronouns (see below).

We’ve covered some of these Portuguese contractions within other units, but here you can see them all together in this handy chart. This may seem like an overwhelming list at first, but it’s really just applying the same simple patterns to different words.

Chart of Portuguese Contractions

The prepositions are shown along the top (x-axis) and the various words they combine with are found along the side (y-axis).

In addition, the preposition comwith Slow audio Play audio Preposition sometimes combines with certain tonic pronouns (y-axis):

There are also contractions formed when combining direct and indirect object pronouns, which we’ll cover separately here: Merging Clitic Object Pronouns.

Are Contractions Mandatory?

(*) The contractions marked with * in the chart above are not always mandatory.
You may be wondering when you should use contractions, and when you shouldn’t. You must use the contraction in these contexts:

• Prepositions + demonstrative pronouns
• Prepositions + definite articles (o/os/a/as)
  • Note: The words o/os/a/as are not always definite articles. The same words are also used as direct object pronouns. In those cases, there is no contraction — it remains de o, etc. The contraction only applies when it’s preposition + definite article. For example, it’s okay to say:
    • ✅ Estou farto de o ouvir falarI’m tired of hearing him talk

When it comes to the preposition com…

• mim, ti, si: The contraction is mandatory. (In other words, you can’t say ❌ com mim, ❌  com si, or ❌  com ti.)
• nós: The contraction is mandatory, except for when nós is followed by words such as outros, mesmos, próprios, etc. In every other situation, we use connosco. For example:
  • ✅ Estamos irritados com nós própriosWe are annoyed with ourselves
  • ✅ Venham connosco!Come(pl.) with us! Slow audio Play audio
• consigo: The contraction is optional. For example, you can say either of these — they mean the same thing:
  • • ✅ Eles trouxeram o material consigoThey brought the material with them
    • ✅ Eles trouxeram o material com elesThey brought the material with them
    • Consigo is more commonly used to refer to você (you – sing.,formal), but it is sometimes used to refer to ele(s)/ela(s) if it’s reflexive (as in the example above) or if it’s very clear from context who you’re referring to. When in doubt, you can stick to com ele, com elas, etc. to reduce the ambiguity. More info

Colloquial Contractions in Portuguese

There are some common ways Portuguese speakers like to shorten their words when speaking. We even made a video about it!

estar → ‘tar

The verb estar often become ‘tar in spoken language. For example:

• • estouI am Slow audio Play audio Conjugated Verbs → 'tou Slow audio Play audio Conjugated Verbs, Slang
  • estavaI was → 'tava Slow audio Play audio Conjugated Verbs, Slang

With the Simple Past, by removing the ‘es’ from the verb, the slang version of the verb estar essentially becomes the same as the verb terto have Slow audio Play audio Verb . This might cause some confusion for non-native speakers but, luckily, you can usually get the meaning from the context of the sentence. For example:

• • Eu estive em casa → Eu 'tive em casaI was at home vs. Eu tive esse livroI had that book
  • Estivemos com os nossos amigos → 'Tivemos com os nossos amigosWe were with our friends vs. Tivemos um jantar com os nossos amigosWe had a dinner with our friends

não é → né

This phrase is often used at the end of a statement to turn it into a question that serves as a confirmation of what was just said.

• • não é?isn't it?, right? Slow audio Play audio → né?

para o → pro

Contractions formed with para are generally only used in spoken form, when speaking fast and informally. However, you might also see the words below written in an informal context, such as a text message:

• • para o → pro Slow audio Play audio Preposition, Slang, Singular
  • para os → pros
  • para a → pra
  • para as → pras

Examples: Portuguese Contractions Within Sentences

Let’s see how some of these Portuguese contractions are used in sentence form. Remember that, while sometimes prepositions can translate smoothly between Portuguese and English, most of the time you have to step back and focus on the construction and meaning of the entire phrase. Don’t get too caught up in the exact word-to-word translation, as you’ll discover that they are wildly inconsistent.
A família passa o dia na praiaThe family spends the day at the beach Slow audio Play audio
Ela está no carroShe is in the car Slow audio Play audio
Está em cima da televisãoIt's on top of the TV Slow audio Play audio
Eu não conheço nenhum dos meus avósI don't know any of my grandparents Slow audio Play audio
Deve estar numa prateleiraIt must be on a shelf Slow audio Play audio
Eu não faria as coisas dessa formaI wouldn't do things (in) that way Slow audio Play audio
Concordo contigoI agree with you(inf.) Slow audio Play audio
Obrigada pelo presenteThank you for the present
Ela vai à festaShe goes to the party Slow audio Play audio

Learning More

You can practice with Portuguese contractions throughout the other units, especially these:

• Which One?
• This and That
• Prepositions 1, Prepositions 2, Prepositions 3
• Tonic Pronouns