Eu vejo aquilo.

You can often just say Vejo aquilo.

Portuguese usually allows the subject pronoun to be omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is. Here, vejo means I see, so eu is not always necessary.

You would include eu when you want:

• emphasis: Eu vejo aquilo, mas ele não.
• contrast: Eu vejo aquilo; você vê outra coisa.
• clarity, in some contexts

So Eu vejo aquilo and Vejo aquilo are both correct.

Because vejo is the conjugated form of the verb ver (to see) for I in the present tense.

• ver = infinitive, to see
• vejo = I see

This is the present tense conjugation:

• eu vejo = I see
• você/ele/ela vê = you/he/she sees
• nós vemos = we see
• vocês/eles/elas veem = you all/they see

So in Eu vejo aquilo, the verb has to match eu.

Aquilo is a demonstrative pronoun that means something like that, especially that over there or that thing.

It usually refers to:

• something far from both the speaker and the listener
• something not named directly
• an idea, situation, or thing in a general sense

So aquilo is not followed by a noun here. It stands alone, like that in English.

These are all demonstrative pronouns, but they point to different things.

A simple Brazilian Portuguese way to think about them is:

• isto = this
• isso = that, near the listener or just mentioned
• aquilo = that over there, farther away from both people

Examples:

• O que é isto? = What is this?
• O que é isso? = What is that?
• O que é aquilo? = What is that over there?

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, isto is less common in speech than isso, but aquilo is still very common.

Because aquilo is a neuter demonstrative pronoun. It is used when you are not naming a specific noun.

Compare:

• Eu vejo aquilo. = I see that / that thing.
• Eu vejo aquele carro. = I see that car.
• Eu vejo aquela casa. = I see that house.

Use:

• aquele with masculine singular nouns
• aquela with feminine singular nouns
• aquilo when there is no noun, or when the thing is more abstract or unspecified

Usually, no.

Aquilo normally refers to:

• things
• situations
• ideas
• something unidentified

It would sound strange or rude to use aquilo for a person, because it treats the person like a thing.

For people, you would normally use:

• aquele = that man / that one
• aquela = that woman / that one

Because aquilo is already a pronoun by itself. It does not need an article.

In other words, aquilo already means that thing / that.

Compare:

• Eu vejo aquilo. = I see that.
• Eu vejo aquele livro. = I see that book.

In the second sentence, aquele is modifying a noun (livro), but in the first one, aquilo stands alone.

The normal word order is:

subject + verb + object

• Eu = subject
• vejo = verb
• aquilo = object

So Eu vejo aquilo is the most neutral and natural order.

You can change the order for emphasis, but it is less neutral:

• Aquilo eu vejo. = That, I see.
• Aquilo, eu vejo. Mas isto, não. = That, I see. But this, no.

For a learner, the basic order Eu vejo aquilo is the best one to use first.

A rough pronunciation is:

eh-ooh VEH-zhoo ah-KEE-loo

A few notes:

• eu often sounds like one syllable, something like ehw
• j in vejo sounds like the s in measure
• the stress is:
  • VE in vejo
  • KI in aquilo

A more approximate sound guide:

• eu → ew
• vejo → VEH-zhu
• aquilo → a-KEE-lu

In natural speech, the words may connect smoothly.

Sometimes, but it depends on what you want to say.

If you mean that thing, aquilo is perfectly natural.

Portuguese also has direct object pronouns such as o, a, os, as:

• Eu o vejo. = I see it / him.

However, in Brazilian Portuguese everyday speech, these clitic pronouns are often less common than in more formal writing. People often prefer:

• Eu vejo isso.
• Eu vejo aquilo.
• Eu vejo ele in some spoken contexts when referring to a male person, even though traditional grammar prefers Eu o vejo.

So for a beginner, Eu vejo aquilo is a very natural and safe sentence.

It is in the present tense, but like English I see that, it can have more than one use depending on context.

It can mean:

• a literal present action: I see that thing right now
• a general ability or perception: I can see that
• understanding, in some contexts: I see that = I understand that

The exact meaning depends on the situation, but grammatically it is the present tense of ver.