Plans and Intentions

Pronunciation Focus — Plans & Intentions, vou/vai + Infinitive

Unit 5 introduces the pronoun eu (“I”), the construction vou/vai + infinitive to express future plans, several new infinitive (neutral) forms ending in -ar, -er, and -ir, and the question word quando (“when”). You will also learn the verb pretende/pretendo (“plan to”) and several time expressions.

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The Pronoun eu — I

The pronoun eu is a diphthong: a stressed e followed by an unstressed u. Since Portuguese verb forms already indicate the subject, eu is often omitted — but it can be included for emphasis or clarity.

Portuguese	English
eu	I
eu vou	I am going
eu conheço	I know

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Vou / Vai + Infinitive — Going to…

The combination of vou (I-form) or vai (he-form) with an infinitive expresses future intent, similar to English “going to + verb.”

Portuguese	English
vou chegar	I’m going to arrive
vai chegar	is going to arrive
vou ficar	I’m going to stay
vai ficar	is going to stay

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New Infinitive (Neutral) Forms

Infinitives in Portuguese end in -ar, -er, or -ir. These are “neutral” forms — they do not change shape to indicate who is acting.

Portuguese	Type	English
chegar	-ar	arrive
ficar	-ar	stay
estudar	-ar	study
dançar	-ar	dance
conhecer	-er	know, meet
sair	-ir	leave

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Conversational Exchange 1

Portuguese	English
O senhor vai ficar?	Are you going to stay?
Vou, sim.	Yes, I am.

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Conversational Exchange 2

Portuguese	English
Quem vai ficar?	Who is going to stay?
A Yara vai ficar.	Yara is going to stay.

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Conversational Exchange 3

Portuguese	English
Quem vai estudar?	Who is going to study?
O Luís vai estudar.	Luís is going to study.

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Conversational Exchange 4

Portuguese	English
A senhora vai dançar?	Are you going to dance?
Vou, sim.	Yes, I am.

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Mas — But

The word mas means “but” and is used to make contrastive statements.

Portuguese	English
mas	but
A Yara não vai, mas eu vou.	Yara is not going, but I am.
O Marcos é casado, mas o Luís não é.	Marcos is married, but Luís is not.

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Conversational Exchange 5

Portuguese	English
O senhor vai?	Are you going?
Não, não vou. Mas a Raquel vai.	No, I’m not going. But Raquel is.

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Conversational Exchange 6

Portuguese	English
O José é professor?	Is José a teacher?
Não, não é. Mas o Paulo é.	No, he’s not. But Paulo is.

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Pretende / Pretendo — Plan(s) to

The verb pretender means “to plan/intend.” The he-form is pretende and the I-form is pretendo. Like vai/vou, these are followed by an infinitive.

Portuguese	English
pretende	plan(s) to (he-form)
pretendo	I plan to
O José pretende sair.	José plans to leave.
Eu pretendo ficar.	I plan to stay.
A senhora pretende dançar?	Do you plan to dance?

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Conversational Exchange 7

Portuguese	English
O senhor pretende ficar?	Do you plan to stay?
Não, não pretendo. Eu vou sair.	No, I don’t. I’m going to leave.

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Conversational Exchange 8

Portuguese	English
A senhora pretende estudar?	Do you plan to study?
Pretendo, sim.	Yes, I do.

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Quando? — When?

The question word quando means “when.” The first syllable has a nasal vowel (no actual n sound). Key time words for answering include hoje (“today”), agora (“now”), amanhã (“tomorrow”), and cedo (“early”).

Portuguese	English
quando	when
hoje	today
agora	now
amanhã	tomorrow
cedo	early
às duas	at two o’clock
às três	at three o’clock
às quatro	at four o’clock
às cinco	at five o’clock
às dez	at ten o’clock

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Conversational Exchange 9

Portuguese	English
Quando o senhor vai a Nova Iorque?	When are you going to New York?
Vou hoje.	I’m going today.

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Conversational Exchange 10

Portuguese	English
O Luís vai chegar hoje?	Is Luís going to arrive today?
Vai, sim. Vai chegar cedo, às duas.	Yes, he is. He’s going to arrive early, at two.

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Conversational Exchange 11

Portuguese	English
A Ângela vai chegar às quatro?	Is Ângela going to arrive at four?
Não, não vai. Vai chegar às cinco.	No, she’s not. She’s going to arrive at five.

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Conversational Exchange 12

Portuguese	English
Quando a senhora pretende estudar?	When are you planning to study?
Eu vou estudar agora.	I’m going to study now.

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Conversational Exchange 13

Portuguese	English
O senhor vai a Nova Iorque?	Are you going to New York?
Vou, sim.	Yes, I am.
Quando?	When?
Hoje, às três.	Today at three.

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Key Vocabulary Summary

Portuguese	English
eu	I
chegar	arrive (infinitive)
ficar	stay (infinitive)
estudar	study (infinitive)
dançar	dance (infinitive)
conhecer	know, meet (infinitive)
sair	leave (infinitive)
mas	but
pretende	plan(s) to (he-form)
pretendo	I plan to
quando	when
hoje	today
agora	now
cedo	early
às duas / três / quatro / cinco / dez	at two / three / four / five / ten