Breakdown of Eu vou devolver o livro antes da próxima reunião.
eu
I
o livro
the book
ir
to go
antes de
before
próximo
next
a reunião
the meeting
devolver
to return
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Questions & Answers about Eu vou devolver o livro antes da próxima reunião.
Why does Portuguese use vou + infinitive (e.g. vou devolver) to express the future?
Portuguese uses the near-future construction: the verb ir (to go) conjugated + infinitive. It corresponds to English “I am going to return.” This is the most common way in spoken Brazilian Portuguese to talk about future actions. There is also a synthetic future tense (e.g. devolverei), but it’s more formal and rarely used in everyday conversation.
Can I drop the subject pronoun Eu and just say Vou devolver o livro antes da próxima reunião?
Yes. Portuguese is a pro-drop language, so the subject pronoun can often be omitted because the verb ending already indicates the person. Vou devolver… is perfectly natural and actually more common in informal speech.
What’s the difference between devolver, entregar, and retornar when talking about the book?
- Devolver: to give something back to its owner (to return an object).
- Entregar: to hand over or deliver something (you could say it if you’re “delivering” the book to a library, for example).
- Retornar: to return in the sense of coming back yourself; you wouldn’t use it for returning objects.
Why do we say antes da próxima reunião instead of antes de a próxima reunião?
In Portuguese, prepositions combine with definite articles via contraction. de + a becomes da. So antes de + a próxima reunião = antes da próxima reunião.
Why is próxima ending in -a? Does it have to agree with reunião?
Yes. Reunião is a feminine noun, so adjectives modifying it must also be feminine: próxima. If the noun were masculine (e.g. o compromisso), you’d say o próximo compromisso.
Why is livro preceded by the article o? Could I just say vou devolver livro?
Portuguese often uses definite articles where English omits them. O livro sounds natural and does not necessarily mean “the book we’ve already mentioned.” Omitting the article (vou devolver livro) is ungrammatical or at least very odd in Portuguese.
Can I start the sentence with Antes da próxima reunião? Do I need to change anything else?
Absolutely. You can front the time expression:
Antes da próxima reunião, eu vou devolver o livro.
Putting a comma after the introductory phrase is optional in speech but recommended in writing for clarity.
How do I pronounce próxima and reunião correctly?
- próxima: stress on the first syllable PRÓ; the “ó” is a closed /o/ sound, similar to the “o” in English go. So it’s /ˈpɾɔ.si.mɐ/.
- reunião: four syllables re-u-ni-ÃO, with a stressed nasal /ɐ̃w̃/ at the end: /ʁe.uˈni.ɐ̃w̃/.