Prepositions

1. Preposições de Tempo: in / on / at

IN

Períodos longos

in 2024 anos
in January meses
in winter estações
in the morning partes do dia
in the 20th century séculos
in three days daqui a...
in a week duração futura

ON

Dias e datas

on Monday dias da semana
on 5 March datas
on my birthday ocasiões
on Christmas Day dias festivos
on the weekend AmE
on a rainy day dia específico
on time pontualmente

AT

Momentos exatos

at 9 o'clock horas
at noon / midnight momentos fixos
at Christmas período festivo
at the weekend BrE
at night exceção: noite
at the moment agora
at Easter festividades

⚠️ Exceções de tempo que pegam todo mundo

"at night" (não "in the night" — exceção!)
"in the morning/afternoon/evening" mas "at night"
"at Christmas / at Easter" = período | "on Christmas Day" = dia específico
"at the weekend" (BrE) vs. "on the weekend" (AmE)
SEM preposição: "last week / next year / this morning / every day / yesterday"

2. Preposições de Lugar: in / on / at

IN

Dentro / Interior

in a room espaço fechado
in a city/country área geográfica
in a car veículo fechado
in a queue fila
in bed expressão fixa
in hospital BrE (sem the)
in the photo imagem

ON

Superfície / Contato

on the table superfície
on the wall parede
on the bus/train transporte público
on the floor chão
on the left/right lado
on the coast litoral
on a street rua (AmE)

AT

Ponto / Local específico

at the door ponto exato
at school/work atividade/local
at the top/bottom posição
at home expressão fixa
at the airport local de passagem
at a party evento
at 42 Park Street endereço

⚠️ Transporte: on vs. in

on: bus, train, plane, ship, bike, horse — veículos onde se anda/sobe
in: car, taxi, van, ambulance — veículos menores onde se entra sentado
"She arrived on the bus." vs. "He came in a taxi."

3. Preposições de Movimento

Preposição	Significado	Exemplos
to	Direção a um destino	"She walked to the park." / "I'm going to London."
into	Movimento para dentro	"He jumped into the pool." / "She walked into the room."
onto	Movimento para cima de superfície	"The cat jumped onto the table."
out of	Movimento para fora	"She got out of the car." / "He ran out of the building."
from	Ponto de origem	"I come from Brazil." / "The train from London."
through	De um lado ao outro / por dentro	"They walked through the tunnel."
across	De um lado ao outro (superfície)	"She swam across the river."
along	Ao longo de	"They walked along the beach."
past	Passar por	"Walk past the bank and turn left."
towards	Em direção a (sem chegar)	"She walked towards him but stopped."
away from	Afastando-se de	"He ran away from the noise."
around	Em volta de / por todo	"They traveled around Europe."

4. Outras preposições essenciais

Preposição	Uso principal	Exemplos
by	Agente / meio / prazo / localização próxima	"by car" · "by 5pm" · "written by Dickens" · "sit by me"
with	Companhia / instrumento / característica	"with a friend" · "cut with scissors" · "a house with a garden"
without	Ausência	"without money" · "She left without saying goodbye."
despite / in spite of	Contraste (apesar de)	"Despite the rain, they played." / "In spite of his efforts..."
because of / due to	Causa	"cancelled because of rain" · "delayed due to traffic"
according to	Fonte / referência	"According to the report, sales rose."
instead of	Substituição	"Take a taxi instead of the bus."
during	Período (sem duração exata)	"during the meeting" · "during summer"
for	Duração / beneficiário / propósito	"for two hours" · "a gift for you" · "for sale"
since	Ponto de início até agora	"since 2020" · "since Monday" (+ Present Perfect)
until / till	Limite de tempo	"Wait until 6pm." · "Stay till I return."

5. Dependent Prepositions — Após Verbos

Preposições fixas — não há lógica, só memorização

Cada verbo "exige" uma preposição específica. Não existe uma regra lógica — é uso consagrado. Errar a preposição é um dos erros mais frequentes em provas avançadas.

Verbos + FOR

apply for · ask for · care for · look for · pay for · search for · wait for · apologize for · blame for · forgive for · thank for · prepare for · account for

"She applied for the job."

"He blamed me for the mistake."

"I'm looking for my keys."

"She apologized for being late."

Verbos + OF

consist of · dream of · hear of · think of · remind of · accuse of · suspect of · approve of · disapprove of · smell of · taste of · die of

"The team consists of twelve members."

"She reminded me of my mother."

"He was accused of fraud."

Verbos + IN

believe in · result in · specialize in · succeed in · involve in · invest in · participate in · take pride in · be interested in

"She specializes in tax law."

"The accident resulted in three injuries."

"He succeeded in passing the exam."

Verbos + ON

depend on · rely on · concentrate on · insist on · comment on · decide on · focus on · congratulate on · spend (time/money) on

"Don't rely on others for everything."

"She insisted on paying the bill."

"He spent a fortune on clothes."

Verbos + WITH

agree with · deal with · compare with · compete with · disagree with · interfere with · provide with · supply with · help with

"I completely agree with you."

"She deals with customer complaints."

"He provided us with all the information."

Verbos + TO / ABOUT / FROM

TO: belong to · lead to · refer to · respond to · listen to · object to · contribute to
ABOUT: worry about · complain about · know about · warn about · care about
FROM: differ from · suffer from · protect from · prevent from · result from

"This approach differs from the standard method."

"She always complains about the weather."

"Exercise contributes to good health."

6. Dependent Prepositions — Após Adjetivos

Adjetivos + OF

afraid ofaware ofcapable offond of guilty ofproud oftired ofjealous of ashamed ofsuspicious ofcritical of

"She is very proud of her daughter."

"He was ashamed of his behavior."

Adjetivos + FOR

responsible forfamous forknown for ready forsuitable forgrateful forsorry for

"Italy is famous for its cuisine."

"Are you ready for the exam?"

Adjetivos + WITH / TO / ABOUT / IN

satisfied withpleased withbored withangry with similar tokind tomarried torelated to worried aboutexcited aboutconfident about interested ininvolved inexperienced in

"She is married to a doctor."

"He's very interested in history."

"I'm excited about the trip."

⚠️ Angry with (pessoa) vs. Angry about (situação)

"She was angry with him." (pessoa — with)
"She was angry about the delay." (situação — about)
Mesmo padrão: "annoyed with" (pessoa) / "annoyed about" (situação)

7. Dependent Prepositions — Após Substantivos

Substantivo + Prep.	Exemplo
reason for	"The reason for the delay was unclear."
solution to / for	"We need a solution to this problem."
demand for	"There's a high demand for skilled workers."
increase / decrease in	"There was a sharp increase in prices."
advantage of	"The advantage of this plan is its simplicity."
impact on / upon	"The policy had a huge impact on the economy."
attitude towards	"Her attitude towards work is admirable."
need for	"There's a growing need for renewable energy."
relationship between / with	"The relationship between them improved."

8. Exceções e armadilhas

Armadilha 1 — "In time" vs. "On time"

"On time" = pontualmente, na hora marcada: "The train arrived on time."
"In time" = a tempo (antes que seja tarde): "We arrived in time to catch the train."

Armadilha 2 — "At the end" vs. "In the end"

"At the end" = no final de algo específico: "at the end of the film"
"In the end" = finalmente, eventualmente: "In the end, they agreed."

Armadilha 3 — "Arrive in" vs. "Arrive at"

"arrive in" + cidade/país: "She arrived in London."
"arrive at" + local específico: "She arrived at the station / the hotel."
"arrive home" — sem preposição!

9. Dicas de prova

🎯 Dica 1 — IN: períodos longos · ON: dias · AT: momentos exatos

Aplica-se a tempo e lugar. Quanto mais específico e pontual, mais provável que seja "at".

🎯 Dica 2 — Transporte: ON para coletivos · IN para particulares

"on the bus/train/plane" (você entra e sai de pé) vs. "in the car/taxi" (você entra sentado em espaço pequeno).

🎯 Dica 3 — Dependent prepositions: não traduza, memorize

O padrão lusófono engana: "depender de" = "depend on" (não "depend of"). "Consistir de" = "consist of". As preposições do inglês não espelham o português.

🎯 Dica 4 — "At night" é exceção de tempo

Todas as partes do dia usam "in" (in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening) — exceto "at night".

❌ Erros comuns

"I'll see you on the morning."
"She arrived to London yesterday."
"He depends of his parents."
"They are married with each other."

✅ Formas corretas

"I'll see you in the morning."
"She arrived in London yesterday."
"He depends on his parents."
"They are married to each other."

Quiz — 10 questões

Pontos: 0