Quero visitar a ilha.

In Portuguese, verbs usually change form depending on the subject, so the subject pronoun is often omitted.

• quero = I want
• você quer = you want
• ele/ela quer = he/she wants

Because quero can only go with eu in normal usage, Portuguese often leaves eu out:

• (Eu) quero visitar a ilha.

Both are correct, but omitting eu is very common.

Because after quero, Portuguese normally uses the infinitive form of the next verb.

• quero visitar = I want to visit
• quero comer = I want to eat
• quero sair = I want to leave/go out

So the pattern is:

• quero + infinitive

That matches English want + to + verb, even though Portuguese does not use a separate word for to here.

In Portuguese, after verbs like querer, the next verb usually comes directly in the infinitive, without a separate to.

So:

• Quero visitar = I want to visit
• not Quero to visitar

This is normal with many verb combinations in Portuguese.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English.

• a ilha = the island

In many situations where English might say island or the island depending on context, Portuguese often prefers the article.

Here, a is the feminine singular definite article because ilha is a feminine singular noun.

You usually learn the noun together with its article:

• a ilha

That tells you it is feminine.

There is not always a perfect rule, so it is best to memorize nouns with their articles. Even though many feminine nouns end in -a, what matters most is actual usage:

• a ilha
• a casa
• a praia

Because ilha is feminine, words connected to it also use feminine forms when needed.

Because a means the, while uma means a/an.

• a ilha = the island
• uma ilha = an island

So the choice depends on whether you mean a specific island or just any island.

Compare:

• Quero visitar a ilha. = I want to visit the island.
• Quero visitar uma ilha. = I want to visit an island.

In Brazilian Portuguese, ilha is roughly pronounced like EEL-yah, but not exactly as in English.

A simple breakdown:

• i sounds like ee
• lh is a special Portuguese sound, similar to the lli in million for many English speakers
• a is like a light ah

So:

• ilha ≈ EEL-ya or EEL-yah

The lh sound is important. It is not pronounced like a normal English l.

lh is a common Portuguese consonant combination. In Brazilian Portuguese, it sounds like a palatal l, similar to the sound many English speakers hear in:

• million
• brilliant

So ilha is not il-ha and not ill-ha. It is one smoother sound:

• i-lha → EEL-ya

Other examples:

• filho = son
• mulher does not have lh, so it sounds different
• trabalho = work

This sound may take practice, but it is very common in Portuguese.

This is the most neutral and natural word order:

• Quero visitar a ilha.

It follows a very common pattern:

• [verb] + [infinitive] + [object]

You could add emphasis or extra words in other contexts, but this basic order is the standard way to say it.

For example:

• Eu quero visitar a ilha. = adds the subject I
• Quero visitar aquela ilha. = I want to visit that island

Yes. That is completely correct.

• Quero visitar a ilha.
• Eu quero visitar a ilha.

Both mean the same thing. Adding eu can:

• give emphasis
• make the subject clearer
• sound more explicit in conversation

But in everyday Portuguese, leaving eu out is very common because quero already shows who the subject is.

Yes. Quero is the present tense form of querer.

• querer = to want
• quero = I want

Portuguese uses the present tense here just like English does:

• I want to visit the island.
• Quero visitar a ilha.

It refers to your current desire or intention.

The dictionary form is querer, which means to want.

When you look up verbs in Portuguese, you usually find them in the infinitive:

• querer = to want
• visitar = to visit

Then they change depending on the subject:

• eu quero
• você quer
• nós queremos

So quero is just one conjugated form of querer.

Yes. Visitar takes a direct object, so no preposition is needed here.

• visitar a ilha = to visit the island
• visitar um amigo = to visit a friend
• visitar o museu = to visit the museum

That is why a ilha comes directly after visitar.

A simple approximation is:

• KEH-roh vee-zee-TAR ah EEL-yah

A few notes:

• quero: the first syllable is stressed
• visitar: the last syllable -tar is stressed
• a ilha may sound connected in natural speech

In connected Brazilian speech, it can sound smooth and linked together rather than word-by-word.