< Portuguese Grammar

the preposition de

The meaning of the preposition de changes with context to mean either of, from, by, with or about.

of ➜ É de madeira. (It's made of wood.)

from ➜ De onde você é? (from where are you?)

by ➜ Vamos de carro. (Let's go by car.)

with ➜ Estou de relógio. (I have a watch.)

about ➜ De que você quer falar? (What do you want to talk about?)

When a verb comes right after de, they’re almost always in the infinitive. You would translate them as to talk, to do, to run ETC. OR ⇢ talking, doing, running. ETC.

de brigar ➜ Para de brigar. (Stop fighting.)

de falar ➜ Fico constrangido de falar. (I'm embarrassed to speak.)

de comer ➜ É a hora de comer. (It's time to eat.)

de falar ➜ Para de falar. (Stop talking.)