Breakdown of Pedro vai ganhar medalha na corrida.
Pedro
Pedro
ir
to go
em
in
a corrida
the race
ganhar
to win
a medalha
the medal
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Portuguese grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Pedro vai ganhar medalha na corrida.
What tense is vai ganhar, and how is it constructed?
Vai ganhar is the periphrastic future (futuro próximo). It’s formed by the present tense of ir (“vai”, 3rd person singular) + the infinitive (“ganhar”). Literally it’s “he goes to win,” but in English it translates as “he’s going to win.” This is the most common way to talk about future actions in spoken Portuguese.
Why use vai ganhar instead of the simple future ganhará, and is ganhará incorrect?
The simple future ganhará (“he will win”) is grammatically correct but sounds more formal or literary in European Portuguese. Native speakers almost always prefer ir + infinitive (vai ganhar) in everyday conversation. Using ganhará isn’t wrong, but it gives a more written or formal tone.
What does ganhar mean in Pedro vai ganhar medalha na corrida?
Here, ganhar means to win (a competition). Note that ganhar can also mean to earn or to receive (e.g., ganhar dinheiro = to earn money), but in the context of a race it clearly means “to win” a medal.
Why is ganhar followed directly by medalha without a preposition?
In Portuguese, ganhar is a transitive verb when talking about things you win or earn, so it takes a direct object without any preposition. That’s why you say ganhar medalha, just as you would ganhar prémio or ganhar troféu.
Why is there no article before medalha, and can we say uma medalha?
After verbs like ganhar, it’s common to omit the indefinite article in general statements: ganhar medalha (“win a medal”) sounds more natural. If you want to stress that it’s exactly one medal or make it explicit, you can indeed say ganhar uma medalha. Both are correct.
What is na in na corrida, and why not em a corrida?
Na is the contraction of the preposition em + the feminine singular definite article a:
em + a = na
So na corrida means in the race. Portuguese routinely contracts prepositions with definite articles (e.g., do, da, nos, nas).
Why use na corrida (“in the race”) instead of numa corrida (“in a race”)?
Numa is em + uma (feminine indefinite article) and means in a race (any race). Na corrida uses the definite article, referring to a specific race already known or mentioned (for example, today’s race).
Why is corrida feminine, and how can I tell?
Most Portuguese nouns ending in -a are feminine (e.g., casa, mesa, corrida). That’s why you have a corrida and, by contraction, na corrida. While there are exceptions, ending in -a is a good initial clue that a noun is feminine.