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Eu vou passar o ferro na camisa antes da reunião.

Eu vou passar o ferro na camisa antes da reunião.
I am going to iron the shirt before the meeting.
FromLesson 25inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Eu vou passar o ferro na camisa antes da reunião.

eu
I
ir
to go
em
in
antes de
before
a reunião
the meeting
a camisa
the shirt
passar o ferro
to iron

Questions & Answers about Eu vou passar o ferro na camisa antes da reunião.

What does passar o ferro mean in this sentence?
Passar o ferro literally means “to pass the iron,” but idiomatically it’s how Portuguese speakers say “to iron” clothes. Here, ferro refers to the ironing appliance, and passar means to glide or run it over the fabric.
Why are there definite articles (o) before ferro and camisa?

Portuguese often uses definite articles before nouns when talking about specific objects you have in mind or you possess.

  • o ferro = “the iron” (the one you’re going to use)
  • a camisa = “the shirt” (the particular shirt)
    Native speakers usually don’t drop these articles unless they’re speaking in a very generic or abbreviated style.
Could you say passar a ferro a camisa instead of passar o ferro na camisa?

Yes. In European Portuguese, both are correct and common:

  • passar o ferro na camisa (use the article + preposition on)
  • passar a ferro a camisa (infinitive + preposition a
    • “iron”)
      They convey the same meaning. The first emphasizes the appliance, the second emphasizes the action “to iron.”
Why is it na camisa and not just em camisa?

Because na is the contraction of em + a. You always need a preposition before the clothing item when describing the action:

  • passar o ferro em a camisa → passar o ferro na camisa
What role does vou play in Eu vou passar?
Vou is the first‐person singular of ir (“to go”) used with an infinitive to form the near future. It’s equivalent to English “I am going to iron…” rather than using a simple future tense.
Is it necessary to include Eu at the beginning of the sentence?

No, Portuguese verb endings already show the subject. You can simply say:
Vou passar o ferro na camisa antes da reunião.
Including Eu is not wrong—it adds emphasis or clarity—but it’s often dropped in everyday speech.

Why is it antes da reunião and not antes de reunião?

Because antes de requires a definite article when you refer to a specific event:

  • antes de
    • a reunião → antes da reunião
      Dropping the article (antes de reunião) would sound odd, unless you spoke extremely generically.
Can you express the same idea in another tense or structure?

Yes. For example, using the simple future:
Eu passarei o ferro na camisa antes da reunião.
Or using a continuous form (more common in Brazil):
Estou passando o ferro na camisa antes da reunião.
In Portugal you’d usually say:
Estou a passar o ferro na camisa antes da reunião.

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