Breakdown of A próxima palestra será online, e os comentários vão ser lidos em voz alta.
Questions & Answers about A próxima palestra será online, e os comentários vão ser lidos em voz alta.
In European Portuguese you normally need a definite article before a specific noun, so:
- A próxima palestra será online = The next lecture/talk will be online.
Leaving out the article (“Próxima palestra será online”) sounds wrong or, at best, like a note on a schedule or a title, not a full normal sentence.
So, for concrete things, Portuguese usually does:
- A próxima aula (the next class)
- O próximo encontro (the next meeting)
Using the article is the rule, not the exception.
Most adjectives in Portuguese normally come after the noun:
- a palestra interessante = the interesting talk
- os comentários longos = the long comments
However, some very common adjectives (especially ones about order, quantity, or evaluation) usually go before the noun, and “próximo / próxima” is one of them:
- a próxima palestra = the next lecture
- o último capítulo = the last chapter
- a primeira vez = the first time
You can put many adjectives before or after the noun to change the nuance, but with próximo, the usual natural position here is before the noun: a próxima palestra.
Palestra in European Portuguese is usually:
- a lecture, talk, or presentation (often more like a talk or public lecture than a regular university class).
Roughly:
- palestra – a talk/lecture given by a speaker (at a conference, event, etc.)
- aula – a class/lesson (teacher + students, as part of a course)
- lição – lesson (more general, or in textbooks; less common in everyday speech for a class)
So “A próxima palestra será online” means something like “The next talk/lecture (in this event/programme) will be online.”
Both are grammatically correct:
- A próxima palestra será online.
- A próxima palestra vai ser online.
They both mean “The next lecture will be online.”
Differences:
“será” = simple future tense of ser
- slightly more formal or written
- common in announcements, schedules, written notices
“vai ser” = ir (present) + infinitive
- very common in spoken Portuguese
- feels a bit more conversational, but still fine in writing
In your sentence, “será online” fits the style of an announcement. “Vai ser online” would also be natural, especially in speech.
Again, both are possible:
- os comentários serão lidos em voz alta
- os comentários vão ser lidos em voz alta
Meaning: the comments will be read aloud.
Nuance:
- serão lidos – simple future passive; a bit more formal/written.
- vão ser lidos – ir
- infinitive passive; sounds more natural in everyday speech.
In oral Portuguese, people use “vão ser lidos” much more often. In many written contexts, either is acceptable; formal writing leans more to “serão lidos”.
Structure:
- os comentários – subject (plural, masculine)
- vão – present of ir, agreeing with os comentários
- ser – infinitive (used to form the passive)
- lidos – past participle of ler, agreeing with os comentários
So literally: “the comments are going to be read.”
Pattern:
[subject] + ir (present) + ser (infinitive) + past participle
Examples:
- os relatórios vão ser entregues amanhã – the reports are going to be handed in tomorrow
- as perguntas vão ser respondidas no fim – the questions are going to be answered at the end
In this passive construction, the past participle (lido) must agree in gender and number with the subject:
- o comentário vai ser lido – the comment is going to be read (masc. singular)
- os comentários vão ser lidos – the comments are going to be read (masc. plural)
- a pergunta vai ser lida – the question is going to be read (fem. singular)
- as perguntas vão ser lidas – the questions are going to be read (fem. plural)
So “comentários” is masculine plural → lidos.
The fixed expression in Portuguese for “aloud / out loud” is:
- ler em voz alta – to read aloud
- falar em voz alta – to speak out loud
Literally: “in high voice”, but the conventional order is “em voz alta”, not “em alta voz” in modern everyday language.
Using just “alto” doesn’t work here:
- ler alto sounds odd or incomplete.
- dizer em voz alta is the natural phrase.
So “os comentários vão ser lidos em voz alta” = the comments will be read out loud.
No preposition is used here. We say:
- A palestra será online. ✔
- A palestra vai ser online. ✔
“Em online” is wrong.
Here “online” behaves like an adjective in Portuguese:
- a aula online – the online class
- o evento será online – the event will be online
You might also see “em formato online”:
- A palestra será em formato online.
But with just “online”, no em.
In everyday European Portuguese, “online” is completely standard and very common.
More “Portuguese-looking” options exist, but are less used in casual speech:
- em linha – an official alternative, but sounds technical/formal/old-fashioned in daily talk
- no formato digital / à distância – sometimes used depending on context (distance learning, remote work, etc.)
In a normal sentence like this, “será online” is exactly what people say in Portugal.
Both are possible:
- A próxima palestra será online, e os comentários vão ser lidos em voz alta.
- A próxima palestra será online e os comentários vão ser lidos em voz alta.
In Portuguese, the comma before “e” is often optional if it simply joins two main clauses. The comma can be used to show a slightly stronger pause or separation, but it’s not required.
Without the comma, the sentence is still correct:
A próxima palestra será online e os comentários vão ser lidos em voz alta.
Portuguese allows some flexibility, but the most natural is:
- os comentários vão ser lidos em voz alta
Other orders are possible, with different emphasis or a more formal/literary feel:
- em voz alta vão ser lidos os comentários – emphasizes “aloud” and sounds more formal/unusual in spoken language.
- os comentários, em voz alta, vão ser lidos – also possible, but not the everyday default.
For normal use, stick with the original order:
os comentários vão ser lidos em voz alta.
Yes, if you want to make the subject (the person who reads) explicit:
- Alguém vai ler os comentários em voz alta. – Someone is going to read the comments aloud.
- O moderador vai ler os comentários em voz alta. – The moderator will read the comments aloud.
The original sentence uses the passive to avoid mentioning who will read them, focusing instead on what will happen to the comments.