Quando a internet cair, vou buscar um café.

a

Breakdown of Quando a internet cair, vou buscar um café.

• o café: the coffee
• ir: to go
• quando: when

Questions & Answers about Quando a internet cair, vou buscar um café.

Why does the verb cair appear as cair and not cai or cairá?

In Portuguese, time clauses introduced by quando that refer to future events require the future subjunctive. For the third-person singular of cair, that form is cair (identical to the infinitive). So Quando a internet cair literally means “When the internet goes down.”

Why do we say a internet instead of just internet?

In Brazilian Portuguese, it’s very common to use the definite article before feminine nouns, and internet is treated as feminine. Thus speakers normally say a internet rather than omitting the article.

What does vou buscar mean, and why not use a simple future like buscarei?

Vou buscar is the periphrastic (or composite) future, formed by the present of ir (vou) plus an infinitive (buscar). It expresses a near or planned future and is more colloquial. Buscarei is the simple future tense, also correct, but tends to sound more formal or literary.

Could I say vou pegar um café instead of vou buscar um café? Is there a difference?