Breakdown of Eu vou pendurar fotografias no quarto.
eu
I
ir
to go
em
in
o quarto
the room
a fotografia
the photograph
pendurar
to hang
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Questions & Answers about Eu vou pendurar fotografias no quarto.
What does pendurar mean in this sentence?
Pendurar is the infinitive form of the verb that means “to hang” (as in hanging a picture on a wall, using a hook, tack or similar).
Why is vou pendurar used instead of a simple future tense?
In Portuguese, speakers very often use the present tense of ir + infinitive (here, vou + pendurar) to express a near future, much like English “I’m going to hang...” rather than the synthetic future (“pendurarei”).
Do I need to use eu before vou, or can I leave it out?
Subject pronouns like eu are optional in Portuguese because the verb ending -o already tells you it’s first person singular. You can say “Vou pendurar fotografias no quarto.” if context makes the subject clear, or include eu for emphasis or clarity.
Why isn’t there an article before fotografias? Should it be as fotografias?
With no article, fotografias is indefinite: “some photographs.” If you wanted to refer to specific photos you’ve already mentioned, you’d say as fotografias (“the photographs”). You could also say umas fotografias (“some photographs”) if you want an indefinite article explicitly.
What is no quarto, and why isn’t it just em quarto?
No is a contraction of em + o (“in” + “the” masculine). No quarto means “in the room” (most often “in the bedroom”). Without the article you’d lose the “the.”
Couldn’t I say na quarto instead of no quarto?
No, because quarto is a masculine noun (“o quarto”), so you contract em + o → no. If it were a feminine noun—say, sala (“the living room”)—you’d say na sala (from em + a).
Does quarto always mean “bedroom”?
In isolation, quarto is most commonly “bedroom.” If you just say o quarto, a Portuguese speaker will typically think “the bedroom.” For other rooms you’d use terms like sala (living room), cozinha (kitchen), etc.
In English we’d say “I am hanging photographs.” Could I use a gerund in Portuguese, like estou pendurando fotografias?
European Portuguese usually forms the present continuous with estar a + infinitive: “Estou a pendurar fotografias.” Brazilian Portuguese often uses estar + gerund: “Estou pendurando fotografias.” But here, to talk about a planned future action, vou pendurar is the natural choice.
What’s the difference between pendurar, colocar and pôr when talking about pictures?
- Pendurar implies hanging something on a vertical surface using a hook, tack, etc.
- Colocar or pôr mean “to place” or “to put,” but they don’t specify hanging (you could place photos on a shelf, for instance).
Can I say fotos instead of fotografias?
Yes. Fotos is simply the informal, shortened plural of fotografia. Both fotografias and fotos are correct; fotos is more colloquial.