Ir + Infinitive (Informal Future) | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

If you learn only one way to talk about the future in Portuguese, learn this one. Ir + infinitive -- literally "to go to do something" -- is the workhorse of spoken European Portuguese for anything that lies ahead. A native speaker will use it a dozen times in a fifteen-minute conversation. It matches English going to almost exactly, and once you have the present tense of ir in your ear, you already know how to form it.

For the full comparison with the other future constructions, see Future Tense Overview.

Formation: present of ir + bare infinitive

You conjugate ir ("to go") in the present indicative and follow it immediately with the infinitive of the main verb. Nothing else goes between them.

	ir (present)	Example: ir + comer	Meaning
eu	vou	vou comer	I'm going to eat
tu	vais	vais comer	you're going to eat
ele / ela / você	vai	vai comer	he/she/you are going to eat
nós	vamos	vamos comer	we're going to eat
eles / elas / vocês	vão	vão comer	they/you are going to eat

The infinitive never changes. Whether the subject is eu or eles, the main verb stays as comer, falar, partir, dormir, dizer, and so on. All the person information lives in ir.

Vou comer qualquer coisa rápida antes da reunião.

I'm going to grab something quick to eat before the meeting.

Vais trabalhar amanhã ou tens folga?

Are you going to work tomorrow, or do you have the day off?

A Joana vai ter um bebé em maio.

Joana is going to have a baby in May.

Vamos ver o jogo em casa do Miguel.

We're going to watch the match at Miguel's place.

Os miúdos vão dormir fora este fim de semana.

The kids are going to sleep over this weekend.

No preposition between ir and the infinitive

This is the single most important thing for Spanish speakers and for anyone who has studied any other Romance language. Portuguese uses no preposition between ir and the main verb. In Spanish it is voy *a comer; in French it is *je vais manger (no preposition, same as Portuguese); in Italian vado a mangiare. Portuguese patterns with French: bare infinitive, nothing in the middle.

❌ Vou a comer.

Incorrect -- this is Spanish, not Portuguese.

✅ Vou comer.

I'm going to eat.

This mistake is so common among Spanish-influenced learners that it has a nickname in teaching circles: portunhol. Avoid it from day one.

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If you catch yourself wanting to put a between vou and the infinitive, stop. Portuguese ir + infinitive is built just like English I'm going to eat -- no preposition required. The a belongs in other ir constructions (vou *a Lisboa* -- "I'm going to Lisbon"), but never before an infinitive that expresses future action.

What ir + infinitive actually means

The construction is not neutral between near and distant future. It carries a specific flavour: the future is already underway in the speaker's mind. The decision is taken, the plan is set, or the signs that it will happen are visible now. English be going to has exactly the same feel.

Plans already formed

Amanhã vou falar com o meu chefe sobre o aumento.

Tomorrow I'm going to talk to my boss about the raise.

Eles vão casar-se em setembro, já escolheram o sítio.

They're going to get married in September -- they've already picked the place.

Imminent action -- "about to"

In many contexts, vou fazer means "I'm about to do it," not "I'll do it at some point." The action is seconds or minutes away.

Espera, vou buscar as chaves.

Hold on, I'm going to grab the keys.

Chiu, o bebé vai adormecer.

Shhh, the baby is about to fall asleep.

Predictions based on current evidence

When something in the present points to an outcome, ir + infinitive is the natural choice -- again, just like English going to.

Olha para aquelas nuvens -- vai chover.

Look at those clouds -- it's going to rain.

Com esta confusão toda, ninguém vai chegar a horas.

With all this chaos, nobody's going to arrive on time.

Contrast with the other two futures

To see where ir + infinitive sits, put it next to its rivals:

Construction	Example	Feel
Simple future	Falarei com ele amanhã.	Formal, written, slightly distant
Ir infinitive	Vou falar com ele amanhã.	Everyday, neutral, plan already in mind
Present as future	Amanhã falo com ele.	Casual, for scheduled or arranged events

All three can describe the exact same appointment. The choice is a question of register and of how the speaker frames the future event.

(formal email) O comité reunir-se-á na próxima quinta-feira.

The committee will meet next Thursday.

(casual chat) O comité vai reunir-se na próxima quinta.

The committee is going to meet next Thursday.

(close arrangement) Na quinta reunimos, então?

So we're meeting on Thursday, then?

Negation

Put não before ir, not before the infinitive. The whole verbal chunk is treated as one unit.

Não vou ligar-lhe hoje, estou muito cansado.

I'm not going to call him today, I'm too tired.

Ela não vai gostar disto, avisa-a primeiro.

She's not going to like this -- warn her first.

❌ Vou não ligar-lhe.

Incorrect -- negation must precede ir.

Clitic placement with ir + infinitive

This is the trickiest piece for intermediate learners, because object pronouns (me, te, se, o, a, lhe, nos, vos, os, as, lhes) have two possible homes in an ir + infinitive phrase, and one of those homes is blocked by proclisis triggers.

Default: enclitic to the main verb

In an affirmative sentence with no proclisis trigger, the pronoun attaches to the infinitive with a hyphen. This is the normal, neutral pattern in modern European Portuguese.

Vou ver-te amanhã no café.

I'm going to see you tomorrow at the cafe.

Vamos dizer-lhe a verdade.

We're going to tell him the truth.

Eles vão comprá-lo ainda hoje.

They're going to buy it today.

Notice that the pronoun sits after the infinitive, never after vou, vais, vai, vamos, vão. Writing vou-te ver sounds wrong to most speakers, even though it is sometimes heard; in careful European Portuguese, the pronoun goes to the main verb.

Proclisis trigger: pronoun jumps before ir

Whenever a negative word, a subordinating conjunction, or certain adverbs appear, the pronoun moves in front of ir. This is the same proclisis rule that governs every other tense.

Não te vou ver amanhã, lamento.

I'm not going to see you tomorrow, sorry.

Ninguém nos vai ajudar se não pedirmos.

Nobody's going to help us if we don't ask.

Sei que lhe vais contar tudo.

I know you're going to tell him everything.

Também te vou mandar a morada por mensagem.

I'll also send you the address by message.

In these sentences, the word in bold triggers proclisis: não, ninguém, que, também. The pronoun jumps across vou, vais, vai and lands just before it.

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Think of ir + infinitive as one verbal unit when placing pronouns. In an affirmative sentence, the pronoun goes at the end of that unit (vou ver-te). With a proclisis trigger, it moves to the front (não te vou ver). It never lives between vou and the infinitive in careful European Portuguese.

What about vou-te ver?

You will hear vou-te ver and similar forms from some speakers, especially in less formal contexts or from younger speakers influenced by Brazilian Portuguese. In standard written European Portuguese it is unusual, and grammar books reject it in favour of vou ver-te. If you want your Portuguese to sound fully native and careful, use vou ver-te. If you hear vou-te ver, understand it but do not imitate it in writing.

Chained future actions

Native speakers often string several ir + infinitive phrases together for a sequence -- but rarely all of them. A wall of vou, vou, vou is stylistically awkward, so Portuguese often switches to the present for subsequent actions.

Amanhã vou ao supermercado, compro o que falta, venho para casa e faço o jantar.

Tomorrow I'm going to the supermarket, I'll buy what's missing, come home, and make dinner.

Notice the pattern: one vou sets the future frame, then the following verbs slide into the present indicative. See Present Tense as Future for this strategy in detail.

Vamos as a suggestion: "let's"

Vamos + infinitive has a second life as the first-person plural imperative: a way to propose, suggest, or rally. English "let's" is the closest match.

Vamos embora, está tarde.

Let's go, it's late.

Vamos ver se ele responde.

Let's see if he replies.

Vamos comer fora logo à noite?

Shall we eat out tonight?

Context decides: vamos comer can mean "we're going to eat" (statement) or "let's eat" (suggestion). Intonation, punctuation, and the surrounding words do the work.

Comparison with English

The parallel with English be going to is almost perfect. Both languages use a verb of motion in its present tense plus an infinitive. Both favour this form over the simple future (will / falarei) in everyday speech. Both suggest that the plan is already in place or that current evidence points to the outcome.

English	Portuguese
I'm going to eat.	Vou comer.
It's going to rain.	Vai chover.
They're going to call you.	Eles vão ligar-te.
I'm not going to do that.	Não vou fazer isso.

The main mismatch is the preposition: English going to has no preposition before the bare infinitive, and neither does Portuguese. If you have Spanish habits, actively strip out the a.

Common Mistakes

❌ Vou a comer às oito.

Incorrect -- inserts the preposition a, which belongs in Spanish, not Portuguese.

✅ Vou comer às oito.

I'm going to eat at eight.

Portuguese ir + infinitive never takes a preposition. This is the signature portunhol error and the fastest way to reveal that a speaker is thinking in Spanish.

❌ Vou falarei com ele amanhã.

Incorrect -- mixes ir + infinitive with a conjugated future form.

✅ Vou falar com ele amanhã.

I'm going to speak with him tomorrow.

✅ Falarei com ele amanhã.

I will speak with him tomorrow.

Pick one construction. Ir is always followed by the bare infinitive, never by another conjugated verb.

❌ Vou-te ver amanhã.

Non-standard in careful European Portuguese -- the clitic should attach to the main verb.

✅ Vou ver-te amanhã.

I'm going to see you tomorrow.

In affirmative sentences with no proclisis trigger, the pronoun attaches to the infinitive, not to ir. The form vou-te ver is heard but not preferred in standard writing or careful speech.

❌ Não vou ver-te amanhã.

Incorrect -- negation triggers proclisis, but the pronoun is still enclitic.

✅ Não te vou ver amanhã.

I'm not going to see you tomorrow.

Negation pulls the pronoun all the way to the front of the verbal phrase, before vou. The enclitic position is blocked once a proclisis trigger appears.

❌ Eu vai comer.

Incorrect person agreement.

✅ Eu vou comer.