B1 · Verb + infinitive
Adjective + infinitive
« Something to drink » picks its own preposition, and « to » does not say which.
At a glance
- Remember
- Adjective plus de, feeling plus por, pronto plus para — and nada para fazer.
- Form
- contente porglad to
- Signal words
- contente por
- pronto para
- fácil de
- vontade de
- nada para
- Trap
- Wrong:Tenho algo de fazer esta tarde.Right:Tenho algo para fazer esta tarde.
Your turn
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The form
The forms and what they mean
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Portuguese.
negation
| glad to | contente por |
| ready to | pronto para |
| easy to read | fácil de ler |
| it is easy to read | é fácil ler |
| the wish to | a vontade de |
| nothing to do | nada para fazer |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Most adjectives take de; feelings take por or de.
Estou contente por te ver.I am glad to see you.
pronto takes para or a, disposto and habituado take a.
Estás pronto para partir?Are you ready to go?
fácil de about the thing; after é the infinitive is bare.
Isso é difícil de dizer. / É difícil dizê-lo.That is hard to say. / It is hard to say so.
Nouns take de; algo, nada and muito take para.
Tenho vontade de dormir. / Tenho muito para fazer.I feel like sleeping. / I have a lot to do.
Example sentences
Está orgulhosa por ter conseguido.She is proud to have managed it.
Estamos habituados a levantar-nos cedo.We are used to getting up early.
Esta palavra é difícil de pronunciar.This word is hard to pronounce.
Não há nada para acrescentar.There is nothing to add.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
« Something to do » is the phrase that goes wrong, but not where an English speaker expects. After algo, nada and muito Portugal uses two forms, para and a: não há nada a fazer is even the fixed phrase for « there is nothing to be done », and tenho muito para fazer and tenho muito a fazer say the same. The only thing that is wrong in this position is de.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English gets through this whole area with one word. « Ready to go », « easy to read », « glad to see you », « something to drink », « nothing to do » — every one of them is « to », and the learner has nothing to decide. Here each of those takes a different preposition, and the choice is fixed by the word in front.
Most adjectives take de: capaz de, certo de, fácil de, difícil de. Feelings take por, or sometimes de: contente por, feliz por, orgulhoso por. Pronto and disposto take para or a; habituado takes a.
Fácil and difícil behave differently according to what the sentence is about. Este texto é fácil de ler talks about the text and takes de; é fácil ler este texto talks about the reading and takes nothing at all.
Nouns take de: a vontade de, o tempo de, o medo de. But algo, nada and muito take para: algo para beber, nada para fazer, muito para fazer. That last group is the one English speakers get wrong most often.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: estar · ser · ter · fazer · dizer · haver · ver · partir