Breakdown of Nós vamos chegar daqui a duas horas.
ir
to go (future auxiliary)
nós
we
chegar
to arrive
a hora
the hour
Questions & Answers about Nós vamos chegar daqui a duas horas.
Why is nós included? Can it be omitted?
Yes, it can often be omitted.
Portuguese is a pro-drop language, which means the subject pronoun is often left out when the verb already makes it clear who the subject is. So:
- Nós vamos chegar daqui a duas horas.
- Vamos chegar daqui a duas horas.
Both are correct.
Including nós can add clarity, emphasis, or contrast, especially if you want to stress we rather than someone else.
Why does Portuguese use vamos chegar here instead of a single future-tense verb?
This is the very common ir + infinitive future structure:
- vamos chegar = literally we are going to arrive
In Brazilian Portuguese, this is extremely common in everyday speech and often sounds more natural than the simple future:
- Nós vamos chegar daqui a duas horas.
- Nós chegaremos daqui a duas horas.
Both are correct, but vamos chegar is more common in conversation.
Could I say chegaremos daqui a duas horas instead?