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'Perto de', 'atrás de', 'dentro de': place words that need 'de'

In English you say near the school, behind the door, inside the box. The place word connects straight to the noun. In Portuguese, most of these words cannot do that alone. They need the little word de as a bridge: perto de, atrás de, debaixo de, dentro de, longe de.

English speakers often forget the de because nothing in English matches it. A second trap is that de fuses with the article that follows, so you will mostly see do, da, dos and das rather than a bare de.

Word list
antes deA1 before antes do jantar atrás deA1 behind atrás da porta depois deA1 after depois da aula à frente deA2 in front of à frente da casa abaixo deA2 under abaixo de zero acima deA2 over acima das nuvens ao ladoA2 beside ao lado do banco ao longo deA2 along ao longo do rio atravésA2 across através da janela debaixo deA2 under debaixo da mesa embaixo deA2 under embaixo da cama juntoA2 beside junto da janela longeA2 far longe daqui na frente deA2 in front of na frente do cinema pertoA2 near perto de casa por detrás deA2 behind por detrás da casa por trás deA2 behind por trás da casa próximoA2 near próximo do metrô além deB1 beyond além das montanhas dentroB1 indoors dentro da caixa diante deB1 in front of diante do espelho foraB1 outdoors fora de casa
How it works

The pattern is simple: place word + de + noun. When the noun has an article, de joins it: de + o = do, de + a = da, de + os = dos, de + as = das. With pronouns and some adverbs you get dele, dela and daqui, as in longe daqui (far from here).

O gato está debaixo da mesa.
(The cat is under the table.)

Many of these words can also stand alone, with no noun after them. Then there is no de. Add a noun and the de appears. English does something similar with far (far away versus far from home). Portuguese just does it with almost every place word.

A escola é perto.
(The school is close by.)
A escola é perto da minha casa.
(The school is near my house.)

Rule of thumb: if a noun or pronoun follows the place word, put de in between and merge it with the article.

The words
Behind

atrás de is the everyday choice. Por trás de and por detrás de mean the same and often suggest something hidden or out of sight.

A bicicleta está atrás da porta.
(The bike is behind the door.)
Under and above

debaixo de and embaixo de (very common in Brazil) mean directly under something. Abaixo de is more like below or lower than, and acima de means above or over.

O cachorro dorme embaixo da cama.
(The dog sleeps under the bed.)
O avião voa acima das nuvens.
(The plane flies above the clouds.)
In front of and next to

na frente de is typical in Brazil, à frente de is common in Portugal, and diante de is a bit more formal. Ao lado means next to and takes de before a noun.

Espero você na frente do cinema.
(I'll wait for you in front of the cinema.)
Ele mora ao lado da padaria.
(He lives next to the bakery.)
Near and far

perto, próximo and longe all take de before a noun: perto de casa, próximo do metrô, longe do centro.

A praia fica longe do hotel.
(The beach is far from the hotel.)
Inside and outside

dentro and fora work alone (Está frio lá fora, it's cold outside) or with de: dentro da caixa, fora de casa.

As chaves estão dentro da bolsa.
(The keys are inside the bag.)
Along, through, beyond

ao longo de (along), através (through, across) and além de (beyond) follow the same pattern.

Caminhamos ao longo do rio.
(We walked along the river.)
O sol entra através da janela.
(The sun comes in through the window.)
Time, not place

antes de (before) and depois de (after) are about time, but they use the same de bridge: depois da aula, after class.

Lavo as mãos antes do jantar.
(I wash my hands before dinner.)
Watch out
  • The typical mistake: saying perto a escola or atrás a porta. Always add de: perto da escola, atrás da porta.
  • Forgetting the merge: de a mesa is wrong, it must be da mesa. With no article, as in fora de casa or perto de Lisboa, de stays as it is.
  • Exceptions with a: em frente a (in front of, opposite) and junto a (next to, by) normally use a, which merges into ao, à: em frente ao banco.
  • Two jobs: além de also means besides or as well as, and próximo is also an adjective meaning next (a próxima semana). In that use it takes no de.
  • Em cima de (on top of) is another very common member of the family: em cima da mesa.
Summary

When a Portuguese place word is followed by a noun or pronoun, link them with de and merge it with the article: perto da escola, atrás do sofá, dentro dela. Without a noun, the word stands alone: moro perto. The main exceptions are em frente a and junto a, which use a.