àquilo

Àquilo is a Portuguese prepositional construction formed by the preposition a and the neuter demonstrative pronoun aquilo. It functions as a prepositional pronoun meaning “to that” or “toward that,” often used to reference a thing or idea previously mentioned or pointed to. The form is relatively uncommon in everyday speech and tends to appear more in formal writing, regional varieties, or literary contexts. In many situations, speakers prefer simply aquilo or alternative prepositional phrases such as a isso or ao que, depending on nuance.

Etymology and form: the construction derives from the combination of the preposition a with the demonstrative aquilo. The result is written as àquilo, with the diacritic indicating the prepositional form. The use of àquilo is therefore tied to phrases that require a preposition before a reference to that thing.

Usage notes: àquilo commonly occurs in relative clauses or clauses that specify “that which” is being discussed. Examples include shapes like àquilo que, àquilo que foi prometido, or referir-se àquilo que foi decidido. In many contexts, especially in colloquial speech, the same idea can be conveyed with aquela or com aquilo, depending on the syntactic requirements and regional preference.

Variation and alternatives: while àquilo is accepted in standard Portuguese, it is less frequent than aquilo in everyday speech. Writers may choose às vs à or outras prepositional alternatives to adjust formality, emphasis, or rhythm. Knowledge of regional usage helps determine which form sounds most natural in a given sentence.

See also: Portuguese pronouns, demonstratives, prepositional contraction, que and que clauses.