Future Tenses by Fernanda L. Ferreira, Ph.D.
There are at least two straightforward ways to express the future in Portuguese. One way is more colloquial, that is, used more often in everyday speech. The other way to express the future is seen more often in print but can also be heard in more formal interactions. Let's first present the more colloquial version of the future:
Future with Two Verbs
ir (to go) |
+ verb [infinitive] |
eu vou |
andar (I'm going to walk) |
você vai |
comer (you are going to eat) |
ela vai |
dormir (she is going to sleep) |
nós vamos |
falar (we are going to speak) |
vocês vão |
beber (you (pl.) are going to drink) |
elas vão |
assistir (they are going to watch) |
Make sure that the second verb is always in the infinitive, or in other words, in the / — r/ ending, which could be construed as its “default” form. The first verb is the verb ir (to go) and is conjugated for the grammatical person in question. Here is a sample dialogue with the future tense:
Q: Júlia: Você vai viajar para o Brasil em dezembro? (Are you going to travel to Brazil in December?)
A: Fernanda: Não, eu e Jane vamos visitar os pais dela em Washington. (No, Jane and I will visit her parents in Washington.)
Q: Júlia: Então quanto tempo você vai ficar lá? (So, how long will you stay there?)
A: Fernanda: Acho que vou ficar lá uns dois dias, mas Jane vai voltar somente na outra semana. (I think I'll stay there a couple of days, but Jane will be back only the following week.)
Q: Júlia: Que bom, então ela vai ter mais tempo com os pais. (Great, so she'll have more time with her folks.)
A: Fernanda: Pois é! (Right.)
The other way of expressing the future is to use the regular future tense. This is done by keeping the infinitives and adding extra endings, depending on the grammatical person. This is comparable to the English “will” + verb.
Here is the regular future tense in Portuguese:
The Future Tense
andar (to walk) |
comer (to eat) |
dormir (to sleep) |
eu andarei |
eu comerei |
eu dormirei |
você andará |
você comerá |
você dormirá |
ele andará |
ele comerá |
ele dormirá |
nós andaremos |
nós comeremos |
nós dormiremos |
vocês andarão |
vocês comerão |
vocês dormirão |
eles andarão |
eles comerão |
eles dormirão |
Here is a sample dialogue that includes some of the future tense forms:
Q: Professor: Vocês entregarão as tarefas na segunda. (You will turn in the homework on Monday.)
A: Aluno: E quando teremos a primeira prova? (And when will we have the first test?)
Q: Professor: A primeira prova será em uma semana. (The first test will be in one week.)
A: Aluno: E o exame final? Quantas perguntas serão incluídas? (And the final exam? How many questions will be included?)
Q: Professor: Haverá cem perguntas de múltipla escolha no exame. (There will be one hundred multiple choice questions in the exam.)
A: Aluno: Ah, só? Que bom! (Oh, that's it? Great!)
