Talking About the Future in Portuguese: Vou Fazer and Farei
The two ways to speak about the future in Portuguese: the everyday 'ir + infinitive' and the simple future, with irregular stems.
Portuguese speakers use a mix of forms for the future, and the everyday one is easy.
Ir + infinitive: the near future
The most common way in speech is ir (go) + infinitive:
| ir | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| eu | vou | Vou viajar. — I'm going to travel. |
| tu | vais | Vais ver. — You'll see. |
| você, ele, ela | vai | Ela vai chegar cedo. — She's going to arrive early. |
| nós | vamos | Vamos comer. — We're going to eat. |
| vocês, eles, elas | vão | Eles vão sair. — They're going to leave. |
The simple future
The simple future adds endings to the whole infinitive:
| falar | comer | partir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | falarei | comerei | partirei |
| tu | falarás | comerás | partirás |
| você, ele, ela | falará | comerá | partirá |
| nós | falaremos | comeremos | partiremos |
| vocês, eles, elas | falarão | comerão | partirão |
It sounds more formal or literary and is common in writing, promises and predictions.
Irregular stems
A few verbs change their stem, but keep the same endings:
| Verb | Stem | Example (eu) |
|---|---|---|
| fazer | far- | farei |
| dizer | dir- | direi |
| trazer | trar- | trarei |
Present for the future
The present tense is also used with time words:
- Amanhã trabalho em casa. — Tomorrow I work at home.
- Na semana que vem viajo. — Next week I travel.
Future time words
| Portuguese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| amanhã | tomorrow |
| depois de amanhã | the day after tomorrow |
| na próxima semana | next week |
| no ano que vem | next year |
| em breve | soon |
| mais tarde | later |
Future of probability
The simple future can guess at the present:
- Ele estará em casa. — He's probably at home.
Examples
- Vou ligar para você amanhã. — I'll call you tomorrow.
- O que vais fazer no fim de semana? — What are you going to do at the weekend?
Tips
- Use ir + infinitive in conversation.
- Recognise the simple future in writing.
- Use the dictionary to check irregular stems.
English Portuguese Dictionary
Offline English–Portuguese dictionary with gender and accents handled properly
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