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Understand How to Use Em, No, Na in Portuguese

Understand How to Use Em, No, Na in Portuguese

posted on April 7, 2017

Portuguese lesson: Navigating the Nuances of Portuguese Prepositions. Learn how to use Em, No, Na in Portuguese

Portuguese learners often find themselves entangled in the intricate web of prepositions. In this lesson, I hope to demystify the use of em, no, na in Portuguese. These are crucial prepositions in the Portuguese language.

Understanding Em

The preposition Em translates to ‘in’, ‘on’, or ‘at’ in English. For instance:

  1. Eu estou em casa. = I’m at home.
  2. Em que estado você mora? = In what state do you live?
  3. Os preços subiram em média 6% em 2016. = Prices increased on average 6% in 2016.

However, Portuguese isn’t always straightforward. There are two key points to remember:

  1. Prepositions in Portuguese must agree in gender and number with their corresponding nouns.
  2. Em contracts with definite articles in Portuguese.

Don’t worry, though! Let’s break this down with an example.

Example 1:

Consider the sentence:

The book is on the table.

In this sentence, you have:

  1. The preposition On, which in Portuguese is: Em
  2. The definite article The, which is Portuguese is: A (because table is a feminine noun)

As I said before, in Portuguese you need to contract the preposition Em with the article A. So you have:

  • em + a = na

Therefore, we have:

  • The book is on the table. = O livro está na mesa.

It seems like a lot to think about, but this is all going to be in autopilot in your brain soon enough.

Deciphering Na

Na = em + a. It can mean at the, in the, on the, and is used with feminine nouns.

Here are examples, including one with the plural version Nas:

  1. Maria está na praia. = Maria is at the beach.
  2. O gato está na cama. = The cat in on the bed.
  3. O leite está na geladeira. = The milk is in the fridge.
  4. Ela está sempre com a cabeça nas nuvens. = She is always with her head in the clouds.

Exploring No

No = em + o. It also means at the, in the, on the. It’s used with masculine nouns.

Here are examples, including one with the plural version Nos:

  1. Tinha muita gente no show. = There were a lot of people at the concert.
  2. Meu casaco está no guarda-roupa. = My coat is in the wardrobe.
  3. Eu moro no terceiro andar. = I live on the third floor.
  4. Não sei o que fazer nos últimos dias das minhas férias. = I don’t know what to do on the last days of my vacation.

Prepositions with Months

I often hear Portuguese speakers using No with the months of the year. This is incorrect. We use Em instead. Here are examples:

  1. Meu aniversário é em setembro. = My birthday is in September.
  2. Vou fazer uma viagem em março. = I’m going on a trip in March.

Prepositions with cities and countries

Cities and countries can be trickier, as countries in Portuguese have genders. I delve deeper into this in a specific lesson. Visit the lesson here.

Beyond the Basics

While these rules form the foundation, Portuguese prepositions can be complex. Sometimes, prepositions are used differently than in English, necessitating attention to detail and context.

For instance, in the sentence below, we don’t have an article before Christmas in English, but we need it before Natal in Portuguese. Therefore in Portuguese you need no, and not em:

  • As pessoas dão presentes no Natal. = People give gifts at Christmas.

These variations highlight the importance of understanding the fundamental use of em, no, na in Portuguese. Mastery of these basics is a significant step towards fluency.

Remember, practice is key to perfection. Enhance your Portuguese with Street Smart Brazil instructors and gain confidence in your language skills!

Related Posts:

  • How to use ONDE and AONDE in Portuguese
  • Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: Words beginning in PS
  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese

About Luciana Lage

I’m Luciana, founder of Street Smart Brazil. I am so happy to be able to help you in your Portuguese speaking journey! Teaching Portuguese as a foreign language was one of the best things that could have happened in my life. I’ve had the privilege of teaching Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. Now I am fully dedicated to the Street Smart Brazil community.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tiffany

    December 28, 2022 at 4:53 am

    Is eu sou de férias. And eu sou em férias the same thing?

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      December 29, 2022 at 5:42 pm

      It is the same thing, but you need to use the verb Estar, and not Ser. Eu estou de férias.

      Reply
  2. Sandra

    October 1, 2020 at 12:38 am

    Hi my name is Sandra and I just started learning Portuguese. Can you explain how to know which pronoun “em/ de” is to be used with este, esse and aquela? I know how to form the words like deste, naquele etc but I can never figure out when to use em or de.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      October 1, 2020 at 2:10 pm

      Oi, Sandra! I will give you a starting point to feel more comfortable with EM and DE:

      EM = in, on at
      EG:
      O livro está NESSA gaveta. = The book is IN THIS drawer.

      DE = from; of
      Eg:
      Eu não sou DESSA cidade. = I am not FROM THIS city.
      O nome DAQUELA garota é Maria. = The name OF THAT girl is Maria.

      Does that help?

      Reply
      • Sandra Cumberbatch

        October 1, 2020 at 3:07 pm

        Yes please.
        Thank you very much

        Reply
  3. Hededzi Gideon

    March 17, 2018 at 7:31 am

    Hello ,thanks for the teaching ,l have a friend in Brazil ,and l am in Ghana the language barrier is trying to cut our friendship ,becos we can’t speak one on one ,everyday l had to translate and am getting bored….what should l do…

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      March 17, 2018 at 9:34 am

      That’s a tough question. The language barrier is real. I hope you continue learning Portuguese.

      Reply
    • David Tonner

      September 2, 2021 at 7:14 am

      If you are both learning English, that would be a common language for your friendship.

      Reply
  4. Patrick O'Rourke

    November 30, 2017 at 8:36 pm

    I have been studying Portugues for 3 years and 3 months and am in Santos Brasil for the 13th time visiting my girlfriend and I didn’t understand what no na and em meant until now. It had been confusing me along with many other things. I still can’t converse yet which is frustrating. I can’t understand what people are saying or even understand written sentences yet. Are there people that can’t ever learn a second language? I’ve never had problems learning before and score very high on English tests. Any thoughts? Thanks. Pat

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      December 10, 2017 at 10:44 am

      My recommendation is to buy a textbook that has audio exercises to develop your listening comprehension with those. I have a review on different books here: https://streetsmartbrazil.com/books-study-portuguese/

      Reply
      • Patrick O'Rourke

        December 10, 2017 at 4:12 pm

        I do that already along with books, videos, vídeo courses, audio courses and teachers. When I hear people speak I have to translate every word which is difficult when I can’t understand what the people are saying. I might get the first word or two. My girlfriend in Brasil gets angry when I can’t understand her so she only speaks English with me. It’s very frustrating

        Reply
  5. Alan Merle Weber

    July 9, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    Thank you again for this lesson and many others. I have learned a great deal from you. You are an excellent instructor!

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      July 10, 2017 at 3:04 pm

      Muito obrigada, Alan!

      Reply
  6. Bob Loucks

    July 9, 2017 at 9:44 am

    My only question is…
    Why do we say “NO RIO” (de janeiro)
    and…
    “EM SÃO PAULO” ??

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      July 10, 2017 at 3:05 pm

      Cities are usually gender neutral, so you use EM. However, Rio means river. And rio is a masculine word: O rio = the river. Therefore, you say No Rio.

      Reply
  7. BradThompson

    April 10, 2017 at 3:23 am

    Thank you for sharing this information! It is really helpful.

    Reply
  8. siva

    April 9, 2017 at 11:44 pm

    muito obrigado. My name is siva, i am from India. i want to learn full time Portuguese course. can you give the tentative budget.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      April 10, 2017 at 3:27 pm

      Oi, Siva

      Our rates vary with the number of lessons purchased. You can see all our options here:
      https://streetsmartbrazil.com/shop/portuguese-fluency/

      We currently have a sale on packages of 10 hours. You will see it in the link above.

      Please email us if you have any further questions: info@streetsmartbrazil.com

      Obrigada.

      Reply

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