Future and plans

The easiest chapter in the book. Portuguese has a proper future tense and Brazilians barely use it in speech.

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Grammar

1. The only future you need

ir + infinitive

Exactly like English going to.

Eu vou pagar — I'm going to pay. A gente vai chegar às seis — we're going to arrive at six.

Note that Portuguese does not insert a the way Spanish does (voy a pagar). It is just vou pagar.

2. vou ir?

Eu vou ir is grammatical but sounds clumsy. Brazilians say just Eu vou — the ir does double duty.

• Eu vou pra praia — I'm going to the beach
• Você vai amanhã? — Are you going tomorrow?

3. The present tense as future

With a time word, the plain present works — as in English:

• Amanhã eu trabalho — Tomorrow I work
• A gente chega às seis — We arrive at six
• A loja abre segunda — The shop opens Monday

This is very common. If a time word is present, either form is fine.

4. The simple future — recognition only

falarei, falará, falarão. You will see it in writing, signs, news, and formal announcements. You do not need to produce it, ever.

Formed by adding to the full infinitive: falar + ei = falarei. Only three verbs are irregular (fazer → farei, dizer → direi, trazer → trarei).

5. Expressing plans and intentions

pensar em takes em, and it contracts: Estou pensando **em** ficar, Estou pensando **no** hotel.

6. Future time words

que vem = coming, and it is how Brazilians say next: a semana que vem, o mês que vem, o ano que vem.

daqui a pouco is extremely common and worth memorising as a unit — it means anything from five minutes to an hour.

7. quando + future = the subjunctive trap

When you say when I go, when I arrive, when it opens — about the future — Portuguese does not use the future or the present. It uses the future subjunctive:

• **Quando eu chegar**, eu te falo — When I arrive, I'll tell you
• **Quando eu for**, eu te falo — When I go, I'll tell you
• **Se eu tiver** tempo — If I have time

This is one of the few places the subjunctive is unavoidable. It is covered fully in chapter 19. For now, note that quando and se about the future trigger a special verb form.

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Examples

ir + infinitive

vou alone

Present as future

Plans

Time words

Answering "how long are you staying?"

A question you will get constantly.

Making arrangements

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What to take from this chapter

1. vou + infinitive covers essentially the whole future. Never vou a pagar.
2. Eu vou alone means I'm going. Don't say vou ir.
3. Present tense + time word also works.
4. The simple future (falarei) is recognition-only.
5. na semana que vem, daqui a pouco — memorise as units.
6. quando and se about the future need chapter 19.