Breakdown of Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar o quadro na sala.
Questions & Answers about Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar o quadro na sala.
In European Portuguese, it’s very common to use a definite article before people’s names in everyday speech:
- o Pedro – literally “the Pedro”
- a Maria – “the Maria”
This does not change the meaning; it still refers to Pedro as a specific person. It sounds natural and familiar in Portugal, especially in spoken language.
You can say just Pedro without o, and you’ll hear that too, but o Pedro is very typical in European Portuguese conversation. (In Brazilian Portuguese, the article before names is less common and more regional.)
Yes, that is grammatically correct.
- Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar… – very natural in European Portuguese, especially spoken.
- Hoje Pedro vai mostrar… – also correct; slightly more neutral/formal or more typical of written language.
Both are accepted in Portugal; using o just sounds a bit more colloquial and personal.
Vai mostrar is made of:
- vai – 3rd person singular of ir (to go)
- mostrar – infinitive (to show)
So vai mostrar literally means “is going to show”, which is a very common way to talk about the future in Portuguese. It corresponds closely to English “is going to show” or “will show”.
Portuguese does have a simple future tense (mostrará = “will show”), but in modern spoken language people usually prefer ir + infinitive, like vai mostrar, for most future meanings.
You can, but the nuance changes:
Hoje o Pedro mostra o quadro na sala.
Sounds more like a scheduled/regular event, or like a timetable (e.g. a program, a lesson plan).
Similar to English: “Today Pedro shows the painting in the classroom.” (a bit like a program description)Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar o quadro na sala.
Sounds like a specific future event planned for today.
Similar to English: “Today Pedro is going to show the painting in the classroom.”
For “something that will happen later today,” vai mostrar is more natural.
Na is a contraction:
- em (in / at) + a (the, feminine singular) → na
So:
- em + a sala → na sala = “in the room” / “in the classroom”
You almost always use the contraction in normal speech and writing:
- no quarto (in the bedroom) = em + o quarto
- na cozinha (in the kitchen) = em + a cozinha
No, not with the same meaning.
- na sala = in the room / in the classroom (location, inside the room)
- à sala = to the room (direction, movement towards the room)
À is a contraction of a + a, usually meaning movement or direction (to), not location in:
- Vou à sala. – I’m going to the room.
- Estou na sala. – I am in the room.
In your sentence, the meaning is “in the room”, so it must be na sala.
Quadro can mean several things, depending on context:
- A painting / framed picture on a wall.
- A board in a classroom (traditional blackboard/whiteboard).
- Sometimes: a frame or a chart/diagram.
In “Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar o quadro na sala”, it could be:
- a painting that is in the room, or
- a board in a classroom.
You need more context to know for sure. The sentence itself is ambiguous, just like English “Today Pedro is going to show the picture/board in the room.”
In Portuguese, you almost always use an article with singular countable nouns:
- o quadro – the painting/board (specific)
- um quadro – a painting/board (non-specific)
Saying just “mostrar quadro” (no article) sounds wrong or very unnatural in standard Portuguese in this context.
So:
- vai mostrar o quadro – he’s going to show the painting/board (we know which one).
- vai mostrar um quadro – he’s going to show a painting/board (some, not specified).
Yes. Several word orders are possible and common:
- Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar o quadro na sala.
- O Pedro hoje vai mostrar o quadro na sala.
- O Pedro vai mostrar hoje o quadro na sala.
All are correct; the differences are small in spoken rhythm or emphasis:
- At the beginning (Hoje o Pedro…) – neutral and very common, slightly emphasizes today.
- After the subject (O Pedro hoje…) – also natural; light emphasis on Pedro doing this today.
- After the verb (…vai mostrar hoje…) – can feel like you’re stressing when the action will happen.
For a learner, “Hoje o Pedro vai…” is a very safe, natural choice.
Both versions are used:
- Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar o quadro na sala.
- Hoje, o Pedro vai mostrar o quadro na sala.
In modern Portuguese, a short adverb like hoje at the beginning doesn’t require a comma. Adding it is not wrong, but it is not necessary and often omitted. Most native writers would leave it out here.
Yes, the sentence is structurally ambiguous, just like in English.
Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar o quadro na sala can be understood as:
Location of the action (most likely reading):
- Today, Pedro is going to show the painting in the room (that’s where he will show it).
Location of the object:
- Today, Pedro is going to show the painting that is in the room (distinguishing it from another painting somewhere else).
In real life, context and intonation decide which meaning listeners understand, exactly like in English.
We can say that:
- Ele hoje vai mostrar o quadro na sala. – He today is going to show the painting in the room.
Using ele (he) is fine if the person has already been mentioned and you don’t need to repeat the name.
In the original sentence, o Pedro is the subject, so there is no need for ele. You usually choose either the noun (o Pedro) or the pronoun (ele), not both together:
- ✅ Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar…
- ✅ Hoje ele vai mostrar…
- ❌ Hoje o Pedro ele vai mostrar… (ungrammatical in standard Portuguese)
Yes, but much less often in everyday speech.
- vai mostrar – very common in spoken Portuguese, neutral in tone.
- mostrará – simple future; sounds more formal, literary, or official.
So:
- Hoje o Pedro vai mostrar o quadro na sala. – what people normally say.
- Hoje o Pedro mostrará o quadro na sala. – grammatically correct, but sounds like a formal announcement, written program, or very careful speech.
For speaking naturally in Portugal, stick with vai mostrar.