Breakdown of Eu vou copiar o endereço e colar no e-mail.
eu
I
e
and
ir
to go (future auxiliary)
o endereço
the address
Questions & Answers about Eu vou copiar o endereço e colar no e-mail.
Why is eu included here? Can I drop it?
Yes, you often can drop eu in Portuguese because the verb form already shows the subject:
- (Eu) vou copiar...
In Brazilian Portuguese, subject pronouns are used more often than in European Portuguese, but they are still frequently omitted when the subject is obvious. Keeping eu can add:
- clarity
- emphasis
- a more explicit, conversational tone
So both are natural:
- Eu vou copiar o endereço e colar no e-mail.
- Vou copiar o endereço e colar no e-mail.
Why does Portuguese use vou copiar instead of a single future tense form?
Vou + infinitive is the very common way to talk about the near future in everyday Brazilian Portuguese.
So:
- vou copiar = I’m going to copy
- vou colar = I’m going to paste
There is also a simple future tense:
- copiarei
- colarei
But in normal speech, vou + infinitive is much more common and usually sounds more natural.
Why is there only one vou for both copiar and colar?