Prepositions of place and position

In brief

To say where something is in Brazilian Portuguese, use place expressions such as em cima de (on top of), embaixo de (under), perto de (near), and entre (between). Use ficar to give a place’s location and estar to describe where a person or object is.

Form

estar/ficar + place expression + noun; entre + two places or things

Usage

• Use em cima de when something is on top of a surface, and embaixo de when it is underneath something.
• Use perto de for nearby places; use entre to locate something between two points.
• The small words in these expressions belong to them: say em cima de, not cima de.

Examples

• O livro está em cima da mesa. — The book is on the table.
• O gato está embaixo da cadeira. — The cat is under the chair.
• A farmácia fica perto da escola. — The pharmacy is near the school.
• O banco fica entre a escola e o mercado. — The bank is between the school and the market.

Common mistake

❌ O livro está cima da mesa.

✅ O livro está em cima da mesa.

Unlike English ‘on top of’, the Portuguese expression starts with em: em cima de. Do not omit em.

Remember

Learn place expressions as complete units, even when their last word changes before a noun.