Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

Confusing words a, as, à, às
Words	Grammar class	English equivalent	Example	English
a	Definite article, feminine singular	the	a Casa Branca	the White House
a	Preposition of movement, used before plural nouns in generic sense, and nouns that don't take articles	to	Eu não me referi a escolas.	I didn't refer to schools.
			Ela foi a São Paulo ontem.	She went to São Paulo yesterday.
à	Contraction of preposition of movement a (to) and singular feminine definite article a (the), used before singular feminine nouns, and plural feminine nouns in specific sense	to the	Ele não me referi à Universidade de São Paulo.	I didn't refer to the University of São Paulo.
			Ela foi à Bahia ontem.	He went to Bahia yesterday.
às	Contraction of preposition of movement a (to) and singular feminine definite article a (the), used before plural feminine nouns, and plural feminine nouns in specific sense	to the	O repórter se referiu às eleições legislativas.	The reporter referred to the legislative elections.
			O repórter se referiu às Filipinas.	The reporter referred to the Philippines.