Questions & Answers about Eu vou ao teatro amanhã.
In Brazilian Portuguese, the present tense is very commonly used to talk about the future when you include a future time expression like amanhã (tomorrow).
Eu vou ao teatro amanhã. = I’m going to the theater tomorrow.
This works much like English “I’m going to the theater tomorrow”, which is present continuous but refers to the future.
You can also use the simple future:
- Eu irei ao teatro amanhã.
But irei sounds more formal, written, or emphatic. In everyday speech, Eu vou ao teatro amanhã is much more natural.
Yes. In Portuguese, the verb ending usually makes the subject clear, so you don’t have to say the pronoun.
- Eu vou ao teatro amanhã.
- Vou ao teatro amanhã. ✅ (very natural)
Leaving out eu is normal and common. You keep eu if you want to:
- Emphasize I (as opposed to someone else):
Eu vou ao teatro amanhã, mas eles não vão. - Avoid ambiguity in longer or more complex sentences.
Vou is the 1st person singular (eu) present tense form of the verb ir (to go).
Basic forms:
- Infinitive: ir = to go
- eu vou = I go / I’m going
- você vai = you go / you’re going
- ele/ela vai = he/she goes
- nós vamos = we go
- vocês vão = you (plural) go
- eles/elas vão = they go
So Eu vou ao teatro amanhã literally is “I go to the theater tomorrow”, but it’s understood as “I’m going to the theater tomorrow.”
Ao is a contraction of:
- a (preposition: to / at)
- o (masculine singular definite article: the)
So:
- a + o = ao
The verb ir (to go) usually takes a when you’re going to a place, and teatro is masculine singular (o teatro), so:
- ir a + o teatro → ir ao teatro = to go to the theater
Other examples:
- ao cinema (to the movie theater)
- ao médico (to the doctor)
All three are heard, but they have different “official” meanings and different levels of formality:
ao teatro
- Literally: to the theater
- Preposition a (to) + article o (the) → ao
- Considered standard and a bit more careful/formal in writing.
- Eu vou ao teatro amanhã.
para o teatro
- Literally: to the theater / toward the theater
- Also very common and completely correct.
- Often sounds neutral and natural in speech:
Eu vou para o teatro amanhã.
no teatro
- Literally: in/at the theater (em + o → no)
- In formal grammar, this should mean you’ll be at that location:
Eu vou estar no teatro amanhã. (I will be at the theater tomorrow.) - But in everyday Brazilian speech, many people say:
Eu vou no teatro amanhã.
intending “I’m going to the theater tomorrow.” - This colloquial use is widespread, but more careful writers/teachers often prefer ao or para o after ir.
You cannot say Eu vou a teatro amanhã; it sounds wrong to native speakers.
In Portuguese, singular, countable nouns like teatro almost always take a definite article (o / a / os / as) when they refer to a concrete, specific thing:
- o teatro – the theater
- o banco – the bank
- a escola – the school
So with ir a + o teatro, you must use the article and form ao teatro.
Article-less uses like gosto de teatro (I like theater) are more abstract or generic and follow different patterns.
Yes. Amanhã (tomorrow) is an adverb of time and is fairly flexible in position. All of these are correct:
- Eu vou ao teatro amanhã. (very common)
- Amanhã eu vou ao teatro. (common, slightly more emphasis on tomorrow)
- Eu amanhã vou ao teatro. (possible, but less common/natural in simple sentences)
Normally, learners are safest with either:
- Eu vou ao teatro amanhã.
- Amanhã eu vou ao teatro.
In a typical Brazilian accent, roughly:
- Eu → sounds like “eh-oo” (often blended into something like one syllable)
- vou → “voh” (like English “vow” but with a pure o sound)
- ao → often sounds close to a long “ow” in “cow”
- teatro → “chee-AH-tro”
- t before e/i in much of Brazil sounds like “ch” in “cheese”
- amanhã → “ah-ma-NYAH” with the final vowel nasalized
- nh = “ny” in “canyon”
- ã = nasal a (mouth open for a, air also through the nose)
Very rough full sentence:
“Eh-oo VOH ow chee-AH-tro ah-ma-NYAH(nasal)”
(There’s regional variation, but this is a decent general guide.)
To negate a verb in Portuguese, you normally put não right before the verb:
- Eu não vou ao teatro amanhã.
= I’m not going to the theater tomorrow.
You can still drop eu if context is clear:
- Não vou ao teatro amanhã.
Portuguese doesn’t need auxiliary verbs like do/does/are to form yes/no questions. For you, you’d usually use você (Brazil):
- Você vai ao teatro amanhã?
= Are you going to the theater tomorrow?
Notice:
- Same word order as a statement
- Rising intonation at the end
- vai is the você form of ir, corresponding to vou for eu.
If you wanted to keep eu and just use intonation, you could say:
- Eu vou ao teatro amanhã? (context-dependent, usually sounds like you’re confirming or surprised)
Yes, mainly in tone and style:
Eu vou ao teatro amanhã.
- Most common in everyday speech
- Neutral, natural, conversational
Eu irei ao teatro amanhã.
- Uses the simple future (irei)
- Sounds more formal, emphatic, or written
- Often used in speeches, formal promises, or very careful language
Meaning-wise, both talk about the future plan; the difference is mostly stylistic.