Mastering Portuguese involves understanding which prepositions naturally accompany certain verbs. In this lesson, we will focus on 15 common verbs that require the preposition “de”, which often translates to “of,” “from,” or “about” in English, depending on the context. Below, you will find a list of these verbs along with explanations and examples.
1. Gostar de (To like)
- Eu gosto de chocolate. (I like chocolate.)
- Ela gosta de viajar. (She likes to travel.)
2. Precisar de (To need)
- Nós precisamos de ajuda. (We need help.)
- Você precisa de mais tempo? (Do you need more time?)
3. Lembrar de (To remember)
- Eu sempre lembro de você. (I always remember you.)
- Lembre-se de comprar pão. (Remember to buy bread.)
4. Esquecer de (To forget)
- Não esqueça de trazer os documentos. (Don’t forget to bring the documents.)
- Ele esqueceu de avisar. (He forgot to inform.)
5. Falar de (To talk about)
- Estamos falando de um assunto importante. (We are talking about an important matter.)
- O professor falou de história. (The teacher talked about history.)
6. Reclamar de (To complain about)
- Ele sempre reclama de tudo. (He always complains about everything.)
- Você está reclamando de quê? (What are you complaining about?)
7. Duvidar de (To doubt)
- Eu duvido de sua história. (I doubt your story.)
- Você não deve duvidar de si mesmo. (You shouldn’t doubt yourself.)
8. Desistir de (To give up on)
- Ela desistiu de aprender francês. (She gave up on learning French.)
- Nunca desista de seus sonhos. (Never give up on your dreams.)
9. Cansar de (To get tired of)
- Estou cansado de esperar. (I’m tired of waiting.)
- Eles cansaram de promessas vazias. (They got tired of empty promises.)
10. Depender de (To depend on)
- Tudo depende de você. (Everything depends on you.)
- O sucesso depende de muito esforço. (Success depends on a lot of effort.)
11. Ter medo de (To be afraid of)
- Ele tem medo de altura. (He is afraid of heights.)
- Você tem medo de falar em público? (Are you afraid of speaking in public?)
12. Rir de (To laugh at)
- Todos riram de sua piada. (Everyone laughed at his joke.)
- Ele ri de qualquer coisa. (He laughs at anything.)
13. Arrepender-se de (To regret)
- Ela se arrependeu de ter saído cedo. (She regretted leaving early.)
- Você se arrepende de alguma coisa? (Do you regret anything?)
Final Tips
To sound more natural in Portuguese, it’s important to learn these verb-preposition combinations as fixed expressions. Practice using them in sentences and pay attention to how native speakers use them in conversations.By mastering these 15 verbs with “de”, your fluency and confidence in Portuguese will improve significantly. Keep practicing, and soon using the correct prepositions will become second nature!