Prepositions of place link a noun phrase to the rest of the sentence and locate people, objects, and actions in space. They can indicate position, direction, proximity, or boundary, and often combine with articles or pronouns to form more natural expressions. In Portuguese, the choice among forms such as em, sobre, sob, entre, para, and even depends on whether the sentence describes a static place or a directed movement, as also happens in Common Prepositions and Direction Prepositions.

Em, sobre, sob and entre indicate static location and place the referent at a point in space with no sense of displacement. Em generally marks interior or broad location, sobre indicates contact or upper support, sob indicates a lower position, and entre places something in the middle of two elements. These prepositions appear before the noun phrase they govern, and the spatial relationship becomes clear even before the main noun is developed.

IdeiaIdea	ExemploExample
Em indica localização dentro de um espaço.Em indicates location inside a space.	O livro está em casa.The book is at home.
Sobre indica apoio na parte superior.Sobre indicates support on the upper surface.	A chave está sobre a mesa.The key is on the table.
Sob indica posição inferior.Sob indicates a lower position.	O gato dorme sob a cadeira.The cat sleeps under the chair.
Entre indica posição intermédia.Entre indicates intermediate position.	A praça fica entre dois prédios.The square sits between two buildings.

Para and até introduce direction and displacement, so they appear with verbs of movement or oriented paths. Para marks destination or general orientation, while até highlights the final point reached. When the verb is static, one generally prefers em or another positional preposition, and not para, because the sentence describes where something is and not where it is going.

IdeiaIdea	ExemploExample
Para indica destino.Para indicates destination.	Vou para a escola.I am going to school.
Até indica limite alcançado.Até indicates the reached limit.	Caminhamos até ao rio.We walked up to the river.
Preposição de posição não marca deslocamento.Position preposition does not mark displacement.	Estou em casa.I am at home.

Prepositional phrases such as ao lado de, perto de and longe de function as fixed units to express distance and more precise spatial relation. Dentro de and fora de add the notion of interiority or exteriority, with a more composite sense than simple prepositions. In rapid speech, these phrases can sound shorter, but the basic structure continues to organize the relation between terms, as also seen in Prepositional Phrases.

IdeiaIdea	ExemploExample
Ao lado de marca proximidade lateral.Ao lado de indicates lateral proximity.	A farmácia fica ao lado da escola.The pharmacy is next to the school.
Perto de marca curta distância.Perto de indicates short distance.	O café fica perto do parque.The cafe is near the park.
Longe de marca grande distância.Longe de indicates large distance.	A aldeia está longe da cidade.The village is far from the city.
Dentro de marca interioridade.Dentro de indicates interiority.	As cartas estão dentro da caixa.The letters are inside the box.
Fora de marca exterioridade.Fora de indicates exteriority.	O cão ficou fora de casa.The dog stayed outside the house.

Simple prepositions combine with articles to form frequent contractions, and these forms are the most natural in speech and everyday writing. Em with o and em with a form no and na, while de with o and de with a form do and da. The choice depends on the gender and number of the noun that accompanies the preposition, and this also explains common forms with country names, such as no Brasil and em Portugal.

IdeiaIdea	ExemploExample
Em com o forma no.Em with o forms no.	Estamos no Brasil.We are in Brazil.
Em com a forma na.Em with a forms na.	Ela está na escola.She is at school.
De com o forma do.De with o forms do.	O caderno do aluno está aqui.The student's notebook is here.
De com a forma da.De with a forms da.	A porta da casa está aberta.The door of the house is open.
O género do país influencia a forma.The gender of the country influences the form.	Vivo em Portugal.I live in Portugal.
O artigo pode surgir com países masculinos.The article may appear with masculine countries.	Trabalho no Brasil.I work in Brazil.

With personal pronouns, some combinations with the preposition have special forms that should be learned as fixed units. Comigo, contigo and consigo substitute longer sequences and are used when the preposition attaches to the pronoun in a special way. These forms appear in contexts of companionship, reference, or personal relation, and preserve the spatial or relational idea of the base preposition.

IdeiaIdea	ExemploExample
Comigo é a forma especial de com eu.Comigo is the special form of com eu.	Vens comigo?Are you coming with me?
Contigo é a forma especial de com tu.Contigo is the special form of com tu.	O mapa vai contigo.The map goes with you.
Consigo é a forma especial de com ele, ela ou você.Consigo is the special form of com ele, ela or você.	Falei consigo ontem.I spoke with you yesterday.

Fixed expressions omit the article and use the preposition in a stable way, such as em casa and a pé. In these cases, the absence of the article is not a mistake, but part of the form established by the language. Certain varieties and registers may prefer slightly different constructions in specific contexts, but the fixed expression remains the starting point for the most natural use.

IdeiaIdea	ExemploExample
Em casa é uma expressão fixa sem artigo.Em casa is a fixed expression without an article.	Fico em casa hoje.I stay at home today.
A pé é uma expressão fixa de modo.A pé is a fixed expression of mode.	Voltamos a pé.We return on foot.
A forma fixa pode dispensar o artigo.The fixed form can omit the article.	Ela foi à escola.She went to school.

Prepositions of place organize position, direction and distance with great precision, and the correct reading depends on the relationship between the verb, the noun and the space described. Em marks location; sobre and sob indicate vertical positioning, entre establishes an intermediate position, and para and até introduce oriented movement. The contractions, the locutions, and the special forms with pronouns show that the preposition in Portuguese does not act in isolation, but as part of a system in which gender, number and spatial sense work together.