Below we will discuss the three main methods to talk about the future in Portuguese:
1. Using Ir + Infinitive
Similar to the English construction, to discuss the future, Portuguese uses the verb irto go , followed by a verb in its infinitive form. First let’s see the present tense conjugation for the verb ir, since this is an irregular verb:
Indicativo
Eles vão passar por aqui e dar-me boleiaThey'll pass by here and give me a lift
This ir + infinitive phrasing is known as the informal future, since it’s not a separate tense, but is the typical way to talk about the future.
Aside from very formal or literary contexts, this method is the most common. It’s also the easiest, because as long as you can conjugate ir in the present tense, you just need to know the next verb’s infinitive form. Let’s see how this works with the verbs correr and chegar in the examples below.
Eu vou correrI am going to run
Ela vai chegar amanhãShe is going to arrive tomorrow
As you may have noticed, the verb ir is conjugated in the present tense, and must agree with the subject it is referring to. It would be a good idea to get very familiar with the conjugation of this verb:
Indicativo
Tu vais para outro paísYou sing.,inf. are going to another country
Tips
- One of the most common traps for learners transitioning from Spanish is to add an a after the ir conjugation, as in the Spanish sentence “voy a correr”. In Portuguese, this never happens. Instead, you would say “vou correr”.
- Even though it seems to make logical sense, you would never use this ir + infinitive construction with the verb ir itself, or with its counterpart, the verb virto come . For example, you shouldn’t say “vou ir” or “ela vai ir” for the translation of “…going to go”. Although it’s sometimes heard in specific regions or other countries (including Brazil), this would make most Portuguese natives cringe! Instead, you would conjugate ir in the present tense, as we will describe in the next section.
2. Using the Present Tense
When it’s clear we’re talking about the future, such as when using a word like amanhãtomorrow or an expression like daqui a uma semanaa week from now , the present tense can be used:
Eles chegam amanhãThey arrive tomorrow
Ela faz anos daqui a uma semanaShe will have a birthday a week from now
3. Using “Futuro do Indicativo”
In formal and literary contexts, the futuro do indicativosimple future tense is used.
Ela chegará amanhãShe will arrive tomorrow
Eu partirei amanhãI will leave tomorrow
This is also an easy verb conjugation, because with the exception of only 3 verbs, the conjugation is formed just by adding an ending onto the infinitive verb (-ei, -ás, -á, -emos, -ão).
Below are a few common verbs, conjugated in the future tense:
Indicativo
Nós falaremos com ele amanhãWe will talk to him tomorrow.
- eu falareiI will speakindicativo > futuro tu falarásYou sing.,inf. will speakindicativo > futuro ele / ela falaráHe / She will speakindicativo > futuro você falaráyou formal will speakindicativo > futuro nós falaremoswe will speakindicativo > futuro eles / elas falarãothey will speakindicativo > futuro vocês falarãoyou pl. will speakindicativo > futuro
Indicativo
Se elas dirigirem o projeto estaremos em boas mãos.If they run the project, we'll be in good hands.
- eu estareiI will beindicativo > futuro tu estarásYou sing.,inf. will beindicativo > futuro ele / ela estaráHe / She will beindicativo > futuro você estaráyou formal will beindicativo > futuro nós estaremoswe will beindicativo > futuro eles / elas estarãothey will beindicativo > futuro vocês estarãoyou pl. will beindicativo > futuro
Indicativo
Se eu tirar o casaco terei frio.If I take off my jacket, I'll be cold.
- eu tereii will haveindicativo > futuro tu terásYou sing.,inf. will haveindicativo > futuro ele / ela teráHe / She will haveindicativo > futuro você teráyou formal will haveindicativo > futuro nós teremoswe will haveindicativo > futuro eles / elas terãothey will haveindicativo > futuro vocês terãoyou pl. will haveindicativo > futuro
3 Irregular Verbs
The only irregular verbs in the futuro do indicativo are fazer, trazer, and dizer.
In these cases, we must first replace the ending -zer with -r (to get far–, trar–, and dir–, respectively), before adding the ending:
Indicativo
Se vocês concordarem faremos assim.If you agree, we'll do it like this.
- eu fareiI will doindicativo > futuro tu farásYou sing.,inf. will doindicativo > futuro ele / ela faráHe / She will doindicativo > futuro você faráyou formal will doindicativo > futuro nós faremoswe will doindicativo > futuro eles / elas farãothey will doindicativo > futuro vocês farãoyou pl. will doindicativo > futuro
Indicativo
- eu trareiI will bringindicativo > futuro tu trarásYou sing.,inf. will bringindicativo > futuro ele / ela traráHe / She will bringindicativo > futuro você traráyou formal will bringindicativo > futuro nós traremoswe will bringindicativo > futuro eles / elas trarãothey will bringindicativo > futuro vocês trarãoyou pl. will bringindicativo > futuro
Indicativo
Nós diremos o que quisermosWe will say what we want.
- eu direiI will sayindicativo > futuro tu dirásYou sing.,inf. will sayindicativo > futuro ele / ela diráHe / She will sayindicativo > futuro você diráyou formal will sayindicativo > futuro nós diremoswe will sayindicativo > futuro eles / elas dirãothey will sayindicativo > futuro vocês dirãoyou pl. will sayindicativo > futuro
In this unit, we’ll cover the informal future (ir + infinitive) form, since, as we said earlier, it’s the most common. If you want to practice with the more formal futuro do indicativo as well, you can do so in the Verbs section.
How do I get out of here?
At the end of the Learning Note, you can click on “Mark as Complete” and then proceed to the next lesson.
Is the futuro do indicativo never used in everyday speech?
With Portuguese, the word never rarely applies, haha. But it’s true that it’s not often used in everyday conversation, unless you intentionally want to sound more sophisticated or formal.
I was looking at all the conjugations of ‘ir’ and I see that it too has its own future tense. I’m curious if and how this is ever used. Would I only expect to see it in formal or written contexts?
Olá, Michael! That’s correct, the verb ir also has a future tense, but we often use the present tense for the same purpose. The actual future forms sound indeed very formal 🙂 You’re most likely to come across them in very formal speech/writing (it’s usually fine to also use the present tense in formal contexts, though).
Very explanation. Basically operates like in French ; so I’m clear enough with this lesson
Thank you
Great lesson – really clearly set out.
Thank you
If this is never used then how do we know if people are talking about the future or not?
In an isolated sentence using the present tense, it may not be clear whether someone is referring to the present or future, but in context it will make sense.
So for example, if someone says Amanhã eu venho mais cedo – Tomorrow I’ll come earlier, even though venho is in the present tense, you know it’s referring to the future since they mentioned tomorrow.
Or, let’s say you were discussing plans to go to the beach with someone and they said Apanho-te em casa! – I’ll pick you up at home! Even though it’s in the present tense and no specific time was mentioned, it’s clear that they mean in the future. It wouldn’t make sense to say I pick you up at home in that context. Similarly, if you said Vou buscar a máquina fotográfica – I’ll go get the camera as you’re walking out the door, it’s implied that you mean you are about to go get the camera.
Why does her voice go down instead of up on all of the accented syllables? For example it’s tra RAH, not TRA rah.
A rising intonation is more common in interrogative or exclamatory sentences. In normal statements or when simply pronouncing words in isolation as in these examples, a rising intonation is usually not expected or required, even if the stressed syllable happens to be the last one 🙂
This verb FAZAER is very confusing. Fazer means to do or to make right. Then in the below sentence why have you used fazer and not ter.
“Ela faz anos daqui a uma semana (She will have a birthday a week from now)”
You’re right, it’s a confusing verb sometimes! You’ll find that there are a lot of verbs which translate quite differently in different contexts. This is because every language has different ways of wording certain concepts. We say “to have a birthday” in English, but in Portuguese we say “fazer anos”. So even though the literal meaning is “to make years”, that wouldn’t make sense in English, so we translate the phrase as a whole to “to have a birthday”. If you want to add this phrase to your Smart Review, you can do so from here: fazer anos 🙂
Thank you for your reply.
Its one of those things I’ll just memorize 😊
One of the other units has the sentence: Pergunto-me o que irá acontecer. This looks like the Ir + infinitve form, but not using the present tense of Ir.
Is this one of those “really rare, don’t worry about things”, or is this a form we should expect to come across and need to become comfortable with?
Olá! It’s a more formal/elegant version of ‘ir + infinitive’, where instead of the present tense, the auxiliary verb is in the future. “Irá acontecer” is one step below “acontecerá” (the future conjugation of ‘acontecer’), but two steps above “vai acontecer” (the typical informal future structure). I would say it’s not something you need to actively worry about.
The following two phrases are used in the examples and workings of the indicativo conjugation of ir:
Se eu falar sobre isso ela vai ficar furiosa.
Se tu a provocares vocês vão discutir outra vez.
Looking at the similarities and structure of these sentences for consistency, I wondered why falar has not been conjugated in the first sentence?
Why is it not, Se eu falo sobre isso ela vai ficar furiosa – ?
Olá! In both cases, the first verbs (‘falar’ and ‘provocar’) are conjugated in the future subjunctive. It’s just that by coincidence, in the first sentence, the conjugation looks just the same as the infinitive 🙂
Were you able to get out or are you still trapped? 🙂
I think you should add a part on how to form questions in the future.
When you say this is used in literary contexts… Do you mean in formal types of writing only?, Or is it used in informal written communication also?
Olá! We’re referring to formal types of speech/writing. The future tense conjugations are not often used in any informal context.
Is “ser” a possible exception to formal use? I feel like I hear “será” more than “vai ser” for example (just anectodal). *O que será, será, whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see, O que será, será. haha :)* Thanks Doris Day.
Olá! Not necessarily, but as each person navigates different contexts, our experiences may vary. Let me just note that “será” can be used in phrases such as “Será que…?” or “Será assim…?” (as well the already mentioned idiom “O que será, será”), which are neutral in terms of formality.
Only one set of verb endings for future tense and few exceptions? What a dream!
Is there an underlying rule/reason for the use of “É um/a” and “São” when telling someone the time? I can’t figure the different uses/applications in your phases in these lessons.
I believe you’re referring to the previous Unit ( What Time Is It?), right? Good question! In English we treat all times as singular, but in Portuguese, you can think of it as if you are talking about the number of hours, so it depends on how many hours we’re referring to. I just added a note to the Learning Note from that Unit to clarify this.
Use the singular form of the verb “É” when it’s one o’clock (1:00). For all other times, use the plural form “São”, since it’s more than one.
For example:
– 1:00 PM – É a uma (hora) da tarde.
– 2:00 PM – São duas (horas) da tarde.
– 3:00 PM – São três (horas) da tarde.
… and so on.
The word “horas” is optional and often omitted in everyday speech, since the context usually makes it clear that you’re talking about time.
É is also used for anything else singular, such as “é um quarto para as…”(it’s a quarter ’til…), “é meio-dia” (it’s noon), etc.
Very helpful, thanks.