Eu vou pagar pelo almoço agora.

Because vou pagar is the very common ir + infinitive future pattern in Brazilian Portuguese.

• vou = I go / I am going
• pagar = to pay

Together, vou pagar means I’m going to pay or I will pay.

This is often more natural in everyday speech than the simple future form pagarei, which is correct but sounds more formal or literary in many situations.

• Eu vou pagar pelo almoço agora. = natural, everyday
• Eu pagarei pelo almoço agora. = correct, but less common in casual speech

Not always. Portuguese often allows the subject pronoun to be omitted because the verb form already shows who the subject is.

So both of these are natural:

• Eu vou pagar pelo almoço agora.
• Vou pagar pelo almoço agora.

The eu is often included for emphasis, clarity, or contrast, such as:

• Eu vou pagar, não você. = I’m going to pay, not you.

Because pelo is the contraction of por + o.

In Portuguese, these contractions are required:

• por + o = pelo
• por + a = pela
• por + os = pelos
• por + as = pelas

So:

• pelo almoço = for the lunch / for lunch

You should not say por o almoço in standard Portuguese.

A very common pattern is:

• pagar por alguma coisa = to pay for something

So:

• pagar pelo almoço = to pay for the lunch / to pay for lunch

This is useful because learners often confuse:

• pagar alguém = to pay someone
• pagar por algo = to pay for something

Examples:

• Vou pagar o garçom. = I’m going to pay the waiter.
• Vou pagar pela conta. = I’m going to pay for the bill.

In real Brazilian Portuguese, you may also hear direct-object use like pagar a conta. But for learners, pagar por algo is an important and safe pattern to know.

Yes, there can be a slight difference in emphasis.

• pagar o almoço can sound like to pay the lunch bill or to buy lunch
• pagar pelo almoço more clearly highlights paying for the meal

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, both types of structure can appear, depending on the noun:

• pagar a conta = very common
• pagar pelo almoço = very natural
• pagar o almoço = also possible in some contexts

For an English speaker, pagar por + thing is a helpful way to think about pay for.

Almoço means lunch.

It can refer to:

• the meal itself
• the lunch bill / cost, depending on context

In this sentence, it most naturally means the lunch that is being paid for.

Also note:

• o almoço = the lunch
• just almoço without the article can also appear in Portuguese, depending on the sentence

Because Portuguese often uses definite articles more often than English does.

Here, o almoço literally means the lunch, and after contraction it becomes pelo almoço.

English often says just for lunch, but Portuguese may use the article where English would not.

That does not always mean a strong emphasis on the in English. It is often simply the normal Portuguese structure.

Agora means now, and depending on context it can mean:

• now
• right now
• at this moment
• sometimes even well then / so now in other contexts

In this sentence, it most likely means something like:

• I’m going to pay for lunch now
• I’ll pay for lunch right now

So yes, it can have the force of right now, especially if the speaker is about to do it immediately.

Yes. Portuguese allows some flexibility in word order.

These are all possible:

• Eu vou pagar pelo almoço agora.
• Agora eu vou pagar pelo almoço.
• Eu agora vou pagar pelo almoço.

The most neutral version here is probably:

• Eu vou pagar pelo almoço agora.

If you move agora to the front, it may sound a bit more emphatic:

• Agora eu vou pagar pelo almoço. = Now I’m the one who’s going to pay for lunch / Now I’m going to pay for lunch.

Yes. In many contexts, vou pagar can match either English version.

Portuguese does not always force the same distinction English makes between:

• I’m going to pay
• I’ll pay

The exact English translation depends on the situation:

• If the speaker has already decided: I’m going to pay
• If it is a spontaneous offer: I’ll pay

Portuguese vou pagar can work well for both, depending on context and tone.

The infinitive is pagar = to pay.

Vou is the eu form of the verb ir = to go.

Present tense of ir:

• eu vou = I go / I’m going
• você vai
• ele/ela vai
• nós vamos
• vocês vão
• eles/elas vão

So eu vou pagar literally looks like I go to pay, but it means I am going to pay / I will pay.

Almoço is pronounced approximately like ahl-MOH-soo in a broad English-friendly way, though the real Brazilian pronunciation is a bit different from that spelling.

The acute accent in almoço shows the stressed syllable:

• al-MO-ço

It helps you know that the stress falls on mo.

Also:

• ç is pronounced like s
• so moço sounds with an s sound, not a k sound

Yes, absolutely. It sounds natural and everyday.

A Brazilian might also say similar things like:

• Vou pagar o almoço agora.
• Agora eu pago o almoço.
• Deixa que eu pago o almoço. = Let me pay for lunch.
• Eu pago a conta. = I’ll pay the bill.

Your original sentence is correct and natural, especially if you want to emphasize paying for the lunch.