The Power of Portuguese Connectors

Prepositions, Verbs, and the Infinite Web of Brazilian Portuguese

You may have noticed that certain verbs in Portuguese often get paired up with a de, a com, por, em ETC. That's because certain verbs need something between themselves and the next verb in the sentence — a connector. A preposition. And they are very choosy about which one. These verbs come with their own connector word — they're literally attached to them. You need to know and respect these relationships and as usual, the Semantica approach is to jump in and start using them in-context right away and build familiarity. You'll soon start to simply "know" which verb/connector pairs are correct based on exposure to them!

In this post I want to connect all of the connectors and unlock all the locks — So you understand how & when to use them.

You’ve seen COMEÇAR + a and, PARAR + de ➜ ref: começar a; precisar de
...and know that these have to be followed by a preposition when another verb comes after them. This isn’t a quirky exception. It’s how the whole language works.

And if you’ve read my post on ACABAR de — which explains how this verb flips into “just (did something)” when paired with de — you already know how one tiny preposition can change everything.

Why These Prepositions Matter
When verbs connect in Portuguese — usually via the infinitive form — the preposition is the silent partner that makes the everything work. It's good magic - AND I LOVE IT.

Imagine these without the preposition
Let’s say you take a sentence like

Eu comecei a cozinhar. If you drop the “a” and just say Eu comecei cozinhar. To a native ear, that’s going to sound jarring and clearly incorrect.

Another example would be Eu parei de fumar. ➜ I stopped smoking. Without the preposition de it's Eu parei fumar. . This might not sound wrong to us, but it'd be like saying, "I'm going my girlfriend's house."

Which connector to use and when???
Relaxa! Just watch and listen. Trying to recall the grammar rule (sim, existe!) will slow you down. Spend your time on dialogs and remember: repeating sentences out loud forces your brain to store a little audio snippet. These then get quick-referenced when you're in a conversation. Repetition makes these "recordings" stick.

Others?
Começar wants “a” and parar demands “de.” This is foundational. If you missed my post on the infinitive in Portuguese go read that first. It explains why these verb chains depend on the infinitive form to begin with — and how prepositions glue them together. Other verbs that have their own special connector include:

Parar de (to stop doing)

⸻

Voltar a (to do again)

⸻

Aprender a (to learn to)

⸻

Esquecer de (to forget to)

⸻

Lembrar de (to remember to)

⸻

Gostar de (to like to)

⸻

Verbs with connectors other than de or a?

Pensar em (to think about)

⸻

Acreditar em (to believe in)

⸻

Agradecer por (to thank for)

⸻

Sonhar com (to dream about)

⸻

Sem (without)

Now see what happens when you try to chain two actions without respecting the preposition:

❌ Ele voltou estudar.
✅ Ele voltou a estudar.

Most native speakers won’t even understand what you were trying to say without that tiny preposition.

More Than One Verb?
Sem problema.
Just Follow the Chain.

This is where things get fun — or not. Those of you with a broader vocabulary foundation will get have an easier time picking this up. ☞ Respira fundos 🧘🏼...

Let’s look at a chain:
Ela acabou de começar a estudar.
Two verbs with connectors! ➜ acabar de (to have just done something) and começar a (to begin to).
It means: She just started studying.
Each verb hooks into the next, with its correct preposition.

Final challenge: 4 verbs strung together!
Eles esqueceram de tentar parar de fumar. ➜ They forgot to try to stop smoking.
Four verbs. All wired correctly:
Eles esqueceram (1) de tentar (2) parar (3) de fumar (4).
It's helpful to divide this into 2 parts:
part 1: Eles esqueceram de tentar ~ they forgot to try
part 2 : parar de fumar ~ to stop smoking

I would have added a de between the tentar & parar. No Brazilian would notice this error, btw 🤭.
✻ You're deep into the weeds on this topic. Just sayin' James wrong? The Case of DE

Of all the connectors (er, prepositions) “de” is the one you’ll see the most.
It goes well with...
gostar
precisar
ter vontade
lembrar
esquecer
acabar

But, when it only gets used once — even when there are multiple verbs in a sentence that regularly use it to connect.
Eu acabei de decidir de não sair.
Wait. ❌ Too much de. The second one is not needed.
Correct:
Eu acabei de decidir não sair.
Decidir doesn’t need a preposition before its infinitive. If you're still reading this post you are that person who wants to get the details right and: te admiro! You're in good company here amigão 🫱🏼

👉 Final Words
I hate to say “you just have to memorize it” but… you kind of do. That’s where practice (and repetition inside stories) saves you.
Don’t memorize out of context.
Use our post on Portuguese prepositions & verbs as a reference and start building your personal preposition + verb deck. Trust the pairings. Trust the patterns. The Portuguese you’re trying to speak lives inside these chains of verbs.

NOTE: Language was never my thing!.
But for this guy, it's everything:

@languagejones is a refreshingly watchable channel that's helped me realize my goal of becoming a fake language expert.
Nothing there will train you specifically on Portuguese but instead, hook you up with some great how to learn a second language advice. The posts hit that rare sweet spot: useful insights that line up with the process of actually learning a second language.

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How about a reference table?

Portuguese verbs with common connectors

🎯 1. Purpose or Intention

When the second verb expresses a goal, reason, or what the first action aims to achieve.

Preposition	Example	Translation
para	Estudo para aprender.	I study to learn.
por	Esforçou-se por agradar.	He tried hard to please.
a	Comecei a entender.	I started to understand.

🧠 2. Mental or Emotional Focus

When the main verb expresses thought, memory, feeling, or desire directed toward another action.

Preposition	Example	Translation
de	Lembro-me de ter visto isso.	I remember seeing that.
em	Pensei em mudar de emprego.	I thought about changing jobs.
em	Insistiu em ajudar.	He insisted on helping.
em	Sonho em viajar pelo Brasil.	I dream of traveling around Brazil.

⚙️ 3. Continuation, Beginning, or Stopping

When the main verb expresses starting, continuing, or stopping another action.

Preposition	Example	Translation
a	Começou a chover.	It started to rain.
de	Parou de falar.	He stopped talking.
em	Continuou/Insistiu em estudar.	He kept/insisted on studying.

🚫 4. Absence or Contrast

When the second verb expresses what is not done or contrasts expectation.

Preposition	Example	Translation
sem	Saiu sem dizer nada.	He left without saying anything.
sem	Fez isso sem pensar.	He did it without thinking.

💬 5. Cause, Means, or Circumstance

When the connector indicates manner, reason, or context of an action.

Preposition	Example	Translation
por	Desculpa por chegar tarde.	Sorry for arriving late.
por	Acabou por aceitar o convite.	He ended up accepting the invite.
em	Acredita em mudar o mundo.	He believes in changing the world.

🧩 Summary of Common Connectors Between Verbs

Preposition	Common Meaning	Typical Verbs
a	beginning / movement / intention	começar, voltar, aprender, ajudar
de	stopping / memory / completion	parar, lembrar, esquecer, acabar de
para	purpose / goal	estudar, trabalhar, correr (para + infinitive)
em	thought / focus / belief	pensar em, insistir em, acreditar em, sonhar em
por	cause / motivation / “ending up”	lutar por, optar por, acabar por
sem	negation / contrast	sair sem, fazer sem, falar sem