EM, NA, or NO? What’s the difference? In this mini-lesson, you will learn how to use the preposition EM and its variations NA, NO, NAS, and NOS correctly.
I’ve prepared a PDF with exercises so you can practice what you’ve learned in this lesson.
Fill out the form below to download your worksheet.
The preposition EM
The preposition EM can be translated to English as “in”, “on”, or “at”. This preposition can be used in many different contexts, but the most common use of this term is to indicate location. For example, to say where you are or where you live.
Here are some examples in sentences:
Eu estou em casa. (I am at home.)
Eu moro em Nova York. (I live in New York.)
EM, NA, or NO?
Prepositions in Portuguese are neutral terms, meaning they have no gender. However, when placed before feminine or masculine nouns, we contract the preposition EM with the articles A and O, creating the terms NA and NO, or NAS and NOS in the plural.
EM + A = NA
EM + O = NO
EM + AS = NAS
EM + OS = NOS
Here are some examples in sentences:
Eu estou no Brasil. (I am in Brazil.)
Ela está na Inglaterra. (She is in England.)
Eu moro nos Estados Unidos. (I live in the United States.)
Ele mora nas Filipinas. (He lives in the Philippines.)
The contraction of the preposition EM with the definite articles is mandatory. We cannot say “Estou em o Brasil”. We must say “Estou no Brasil”.
Gender of words in Portuguese
How to know the gender of a word? I will give you some tips.
Country names ending with the letter A are feminine, and all others are masculine. On the other hand, city names are generally neutral. Of course, there are exceptions.
Here are more examples in sentences:
Ele mora no Japão. (He lives in Japan.)
Ela mora na Espanha. (She lives in Spain.)
Ele está em Tóquio. (He is in Tokyo.)
Ela está em Madri. (She is in Madrid.)
Now, see some examples of places within a city:
Ele está no supermercado. (He is at the supermarket.)
Ela está na farmácia. (She is at the pharmacy.)
Eu estou em casa. (I am at home.)
“Em casa” is an exception. When we talk about our own home, we say “estou em casa”. When referring to someone else’s house, we say “na casa”.
Eu estou na casa da minha mãe. (I am at my mother’s house.)
Check out this video if you want to learn more about gender of words in Portuguese
To really grasp what we studied today, you need to keep practicing. That’s why I’ve prepared a PDF with extra exercises. Fill out the form below to download your worksheet.
Até a próxima!
Virginia & Speaking Brazilian Team
