In this lesson, we’ll be looking at some more adverbs of place. Remember: Unlike other adverbs, adverbs of place only modify verbs.
Dentro
DentroInside
Dentro da caixa está um presente.Inside the box, there’s a present.
Ela está dentro da sala.She’s in the room.
Fora
ForaOutside O meu gato ficou fora de casa ontem.My cat was left outside yesterday.
A bola caiu fora do campo.The ball fell outside the pitch.
Atrás
AtrásBehind
Os teus chinelos estão atrás do sofáYour slippers are behind the sofa
Ela estava atrás de mim na filaShe was (standing) behind me in the queue
Defronte
DefronteIn front of is not a very common adverb nowadays. Instead, we usually use adverbial phrases like à frente deIn front of or em frente aIn front of to say that something is in front of something else. But you may still come across it, especially in written texts.
Defronte da casa ergue-se um velho carvalho.In front of the house stands an old oak.
Adiante
AdianteAhead, in front can also be said to mean in front of, but more specifically in the sense of being ahead, or further along.
A nossa empresa está um passo adiante da competição.Our company is one step ahead of the competition.
A igreja e o posto de bombeiros ficam adiante na estrada.The church and the fire station are further along the road.
When used to describe something that will soon come up in a text, adiante can also mean below, in the sense that it is further down the page, or in the text to follow.
Esta questão será abordada adiante.This question will be addressed below.
Perhaps add “or as follows” to the final explanation re adiante?
On this page, I think the audio files for “atrás” are the same — they are both the “slow” pronunciation. HTH!
You’re right, thanks! I just flagged that audio to be fixed. 🙂
Re: “Ela estava atrás de mim na fila.” – fila as well as bicha seems to mean queue. Even though the dictionary suggests that bicha is used for queue in Portugal and fila in Brazil it seems to me that one easily could go wrong here since the word bicha also is a pejorative – not only in Brazil as it seems. As a non native speaker it is perhaps safer to stick with fila for queue? Please, see the following link: https://ciberduvidas.iscte-iul.pt/consultorio/perguntas/bichas-ou-filas/219
Olá, Tommy. Both words, bicha and fila, are well in use in Portugal in the sense of queue (I think that bicha is particularly common in the northern half of Portugal). Bicha is a very colloquial term and is also slang for sissy, which is why you’re concerned, but for people who are reminded of that, it’s much more likely to be amusing than offensive. In any case, it’s obviously quite safe to stick to fila – no risk of double entendres 🙂
Really helpful this lesson. But heavy on the new vocabulary. Puh!
So if defronte “is not very common… nowadays ” should I rather use em frente?
Or is there a catch (as I already suspect there is)?
There’s no catch, Martin! You can safely stick to “em frente” 🙂
What is the difference between ”Em frente” and ”antes”?
Olá, Louise. “Em frente” means “in front”, while “antes” means “before”. Please note that in Portuguese, we don’t use “antes” to refer to physical location – only to time (e.g. “before you arrived”) or relative placement (e.g. “my name is before yours”).
Hi,
O meu gato ficou fora de casa ontem
Why DE Casa and DA casa?
Thank you
Olá, Amadou. With the noun “casa”, there is flexibility regarding the addition or exclusion of the definite article “a”. This is an example. You can say both “fora de” or “fora da”, just like you can say “em minha casa” or “na minha casa”. This mostly applies when you’re talking about home and we often omit the article then. If you were talking about any random house, you would likely use the definite article.
I would love to have the translations of the phrases on these pages. Or the ability to click on any word in the program to see the English translation. Often I see words in expamples that I don’t recognize and I think it would be helpful to be able to quickly see the english translation.
Olá! The phrases that you see in the “bubbles” should have the English translation written just below. Are any of those not showing up for you? Or do you mean being able to see the translation of only 1 word from a phrase?
Olá!
Could you share more about the verb erguer, especially in this phrase: Defronte da casa ergue-se um velho carvalho. ?
It seems a literal translation for the verb could be ‘to lift / to raise’ and in the sentence, google translates as ‘In front of the house stands an old oak tree.’
Any other examples where its usage would be appropriate?
Thank you!
Olá 🙂 Yes, ‘stands’ is also a suitable translation here. The verb erguer can also be used in other contexts, in the sense of lifting, raising or rising:
– Nós erguemos as mãos = We lift our hands up
– O Sol ergue-se a este = The Sun rises in the east
– Eles ergueram uma bandeira = They raised a flag
– Ela ergueu-se da cama = She rose out of bed
Awesome! Appreciate the additional info and examples!
I don’t understand why you use imperfeito and not PPS: ela estava atrás de mim na fila.
Abraço
Olá Richard!
It depends on the context actually. Anyway, we’ve just changed this translation to “She was standing behind me in the queue” so it could be a bit more obvious.
Cheers,
Luís
Thanks for your quick reply!
Yours, Richard
Slightly off topic for this page, but the word appeared here, so I’ll ask this here.
What is the difference between “questão” and “pergunta”? This also extends to the difference between “questionar” and “perguntar”. I personally got a sense that “perguntar” is closer to the English verb “to ask”, as in “to ask a question”. While “questionar” is “to question” but in a more abstract sense, like to doubt or to wonder about something. Am I on the right track or am I way off?
Olá! “Questão” and “pergunta” are synonyms when used to describe a question. “Questão” can also take on some additional meanings, such as in the following examples:
– É uma questão de lógica = It’s a matter of logic
– O paciente tem algumas questões psicológicas = The patient has some psychological issues
Similarly, both “questionar” and “perguntar” can mean “asking a question”. They can even both be used in the sense of wondering abstractly. For example:
– Pergunto-me / Questiono-me se vou conseguir = I wonder if I’ll make it
On top of that, “questionar” is also used in the sense of questioning someone/something:
– A equipa questionou a chefe = The team questioned the boss
– Estás a questionar as minhas capacidades? = Are you questioning my abilities?
Are these interchangeable? I’ve seen both used but can’t tell when each is correct to use.
Which words are you referring to? 🙂
Hi, not sure if it is already explained somewhere and I have missed it, but looking for some clarification on the difference (if any) between Atrás and Detrás. Is one more common that the other, or used in different situations? Thanks!
Olá! They can be considered synonyms when used in the sense of ‘behind’. ‘Atrás’ is the most used term and sounds natural at any level of formality. ‘Detrás’ tends to sound more formal/elegant. ‘Detrás’ also usually implies close proximity (i.e. right behind), while ‘atrás’ can be used more broadly.
Would it not be more correct to say “Defronte á casa ergue-se um velho carvalho.” Instead of “Defronte da casa”?
Olá. In European Portuguese, we only use “defronte de”, so “defronte da casa” is correct, but in Brazilian Portuguese, “defronte a” might indeed be used.
what adverbial phrases are there to say that something is in front of something else?
Olá. We’d use “à frente de” or “em frente a”, which are interchangeable in this context:
– Estou à frente da casa
– Estou em frente à casa
(I’m in front of the house)
We’ll complete the Learning Note with this information 🙂