How to use preposition POR

I’m pretty sure you struggle with this preposition! In general, prepositions are hard, because we don’t have a final rule about how to use them. BUT we can learn the most common senses that come from certain prepositions as well as some typical combinations we often see between them and some verbs AND nouns.

So in this article I’ll show you how to use preposition POR in Portuguese. We’ll give you the best tips on how to master it!

Most common translations

To begin to understand the use of the preposition POR, it is important to recognize the prepositions that are often treated as equivalent in English.

Preposition POR is very often translated in English as:

→ for / to / by / per / through / via

Also, remember that when you see the preposition PELO or PELA, it is a contraction of the preposition POR with article O or A, like in these examples:

– O dever foi feito pelo aluno. PELO [ POR + O ] = by the 

– Viemos pela Rua Margarida. PELA [ POR + A ] = by the

Senses related to POR

Preposition POR can be related to some senses and recognize them can be very helpful!

1. Frequência:

• Eu estudo português três vezes por semana. (I study Portuguese three times a week)

• Ela lava o carro uma vez por mês. (She washes the car once a month)

2. Troca:

• Eu troquei aquela blusa por essa calça. (I traded that shirt for these pants)

• Ele substituiu a nota de 50 reais por cinco notas de 10 reais. (He replaced the 50 reais bill with five 10 reais bills.)

3.  Agente na Voz Passiva:

• A casa foi comprada por ele. (The house was bought by him)

•  O manifestante foi agredido pela polícia.  (The protester was beaten by the police)

4. Lugar por onde se passa:

• Eu vim pela Rua Getúlio Vargas. (I came via Getúlio Vargas Street)

• Ela passou pelo bairro São Lucas. (She passed through the São Lucas neighborhood)

• Os ladrões entraram pela janela. (The thieves came in through the window)

5. Modo:

• A menina puxou a irmã pelos cabelos.  (The girl pulled her sister by the hair)

• Ele segurou a parceira de dança pela cintura.  (He held his dance partner by the waist)

6. Causa/ Razão:

• Ela fez isso por amor a você. (She did it out of love for you)

• Ele disse não por achar que assim seria melhor. (He said no because he thought it would be better this way)

• Eles desistiram por medo do pai deles. (They gave up for fear of their father)

7. Valor/ Preço:

• Eles venderam a casa por 500 mil reais. (They sold the house for 500 thousand reais)

• Eu comprei esse carro por 30 mil reais. (I bought this car for 30 thousand reais)

If you would like to get some more tips on how to differentiate POR from PARA, watch this class: