Crasis: What it is, correct use, rules and when to use it

What is crasis?

Crasis is the fusion of the preposition "a" with:

• Singular feminine article: "I'm going to the beach."
• Demonstrative pronouns "a", "aquela", and "aquilo": "I'm referring to that house."
• Demonstrative pronouns "aquele" and "aquilo" in plural: "I agree with those points."

Basic rules of crasis:

• Substitution: If you can replace with "a", "às", "ao", "aos", use crasis. "I'm going to the beach" becomes "I return from the beach".
• Verbs that demand "a": "I watched the game", but "I watched the match".
• Feminine adverbial phrases: "I arrived in the evening".
• Time expressions: "It's at ten o'clock".

Curiosities:

• The word "crasis" comes from the Greek "krasis", which means "mixture".
• The use of crasis is still a subject of doubt for many Portuguese speakers.
• There are exceptions to the rules of crasis, such as "in a hurry" and "in the afternoon".

Tips for using crasis:

• Read a lot!
• Pay attention to the context of the sentence.
• Use a dictionary or online tool to check your doubts.

List of Common Words with Crasis:

Prepositions:

• à = a + a
• às = a + as

Adverbial Phrases:

• à tarde (in the afternoon)
• à noite (at night)
• à direita (to the right)
• à esquerda (to the left)
• à vontade (at will)
• às pressas (in a hurry)
• às vezes (sometimes)
• à beira de (at the edge of)
• à custa de (at the cost of)
• à frente de (in front of)
• à luz de (in the light of)
• à medida que (as)
• à proporção que (proportionally as)
• à semelhança de (similar to)
• à vista de (in view of)

Prepositional Phrases:

• à beira de (at the edge of)
• à custa de (at the cost of)
• à frente de (in front of)
• à luz de (in the light of)
• à medida que (as)
• à proporção que (proportionally as)
• à semelhança de (similar to)
• à vista de (in view of)

Conjunctive Phrases:

• à medida que (as)
• à proporção que (proportionally as)

Examples with Demonstrative Pronouns:

• àquela casa (to that house)
• àquele menino (to that boy)
• àquelas meninas (to those girls)
• aquilo que você disse (that which you said)

Examples with Verbs:

• Assistir à aula (to attend the class)
• Referir-se à pesquisa (to refer to the research)
• Obedecer à regra (to obey the rule)
• Aspirar à vitória (to aspire to victory)

Other Common Words:

• à disposição (at disposal)
• à saúde (to health)
• à terra (to the ground)
• à moda de (in the manner of)
• à vontade (at will)

Tips for using crasis:

• Substitution: If you can replace with "a", "às", "ao", "aos", use crasis. "I'm going to the beach" becomes "I return from the beach".
• Verbs that demand "a": "I watched the game", but "I watched the match".
• Feminine adverbial phrases: "I arrived in the evening".
• Time expressions: "It's at ten o'clock".

Remember: crasis can be a challenging subject, but with practice and the above tips, you can use it with more confidence!

Crasis: a subject that doesn't need to be complicated!

With a little practice and the tips above, you can use crasis with more confidence.

Share this article with your friends and family who also have doubts about crasis!

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