Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Hoje à noite quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro. - Tonight I want to watch a crime film with Pedro.

Literally, à noite means at the night or in the evening/night, but in natural English we simply say at night or tonight (with hoje).

If you wrote a noite without the accent, it would normally mean the night as a subject or object, for example:

A noite está fria. – The night is cold.

So:

à noite = at night / in the evening
a noite = the night (as a noun phrase, no preposition)

What is the difference between hoje à noite, esta noite, and just à noite?

All three involve the idea of night, but they are used slightly differently:

hoje à noite – tonight, specifically this coming night (today).
- Very common and neutral in European Portuguese.
esta noite – also tonight, practically the same meaning as hoje à noite.
- Slightly more formal or written-sounding in some contexts, but both are correct and used.
à noite – at night / in the evenings in general (habitual), or tonight if the context is very clear.
- Example of habitual use:
  - À noite vejo televisão. – At night / In the evenings I watch TV.

In your sentence, Hoje à noite quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro, hoje à noite clearly means tonight.

Why is there no eu in quero ver? Shouldn’t it be Eu quero ver?

Both Quero ver and Eu quero ver are correct.

Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: you can usually omit subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, nós, vocês, eles) because the verb ending shows who the subject is.

Quero can only be I want in this sentence, because of the conjugation.
Adding eu often adds emphasis, contrast, or formality:
- Eu quero ver um filme policial, mas ele quer ver uma comédia.
  (I want to see a crime film, but he wants to see a comedy.)

So:

Quero ver um filme policial. – perfectly normal, everyday Portuguese.
Eu quero ver um filme policial. – also correct, but slightly more emphatic or contrastive.

Why is ver in the infinitive (quero ver) and not conjugated?

In Portuguese, verbs like querer (to want), poder (to be able to), conseguir (to manage to), dever (must / should) are typically followed by another verb in the infinitive form, without a word like to in between.

So you say:

quero ver – I want to see
posso ver – I can see
devo ver – I must/should see

There is no extra word like English to; you just put the infinitive directly after:

Hoje à noite quero ver um filme. – Tonight I want to see a film.

You would not conjugate ver here (quero vejo is wrong). The meaning of time and person is carried by quero, and ver stays in the infinitive.

Why is quero (present tense) used to talk about tonight, which is in the future?

In Portuguese, the present tense is very often used to talk about near future plans or intentions, especially with a time expression like hoje à noite, amanhã, logo, etc.

So:

Hoje à noite quero ver um filme policial.
Literally: Today at night I want to see a crime film, but it clearly refers to a future plan (tonight).

You can also use ir + infinitive (vou ver) for future:

Hoje à noite vou ver um filme policial. – Tonight I am going to watch a crime film.

Difference in nuance:

quero ver – focuses on your desire or wish.
vou ver – focuses more on a plan or arrangement.

In many situations, both are possible; you choose depending on whether you want to stress want or will/going to.

Why is it filme policial and not policial filme?

In Portuguese, most adjectives come after the noun:

filme policial – crime / detective film
carro vermelho – red car
casa antiga – old house

So filme policial is the normal word order.

There are some adjectives that often come before the noun (for example bom, mau, grande, pequeno, novo, velho) and positions can sometimes change the nuance, but as a general rule:

English: adjective + noun
Portuguese: noun + adjective

So you should say um filme policial, um filme interessante, um filme longo, etc.

What exactly does policial mean here? Is it the same as police officer?

In this sentence, policial is an adjective meaning relating to police / crime / detective work.

So um filme policial is:

a crime film
a detective movie
a police movie / police thriller

In European Portuguese:

policial is mostly used as an adjective.
For a police officer, people normally say o polícia (male), a polícia (female), or a polícia for the police as an institution.

In Brazilian Portuguese, policial is also very commonly used as a noun meaning police officer (um policial), but that usage is less typical in Portugal. In Portugal, learners should mainly think of policial here as a genre: crime / police-related.

Why do we say com o Pedro and not just com Pedro?

In European Portuguese, it is very common in everyday speech to use the definite article before most personal names:

o Pedro, a Maria, o João, a Ana

So:

com o Pedro – with Pedro
falei com a Maria – I spoke with Maria

This is normal, neutral European Portuguese.

In more formal writing (newspapers, academic texts, official documents), the article is often omitted:

Pedro Silva disse que… – more formal/written style.

But in ordinary conversation, with names of friends, family, colleagues, you almost always hear the article:

Vou ao cinema com o Pedro.
Almocei com a Ana.

Can I say com Pedro instead of com o Pedro? Does it change the meaning?

You can say com Pedro, and it is grammatically correct, but:

In everyday European Portuguese speech it will often sound more formal, literary, or a bit unusual.
com o Pedro is the default, natural choice when talking about a specific person you know.

You are more likely to see com Pedro:

In written or formal texts.
In lists of names (e.g. on posters, programmes).
Sometimes with foreign or famous names, where usage is more variable.

For a learner of European Portuguese, a good rule is:

In normal conversation, say com o Pedro, com a Maria.
If you are writing something formal, you may drop the article, depending on the style guide.

Can the word order be changed? For example, can I say Quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro hoje à noite?

Yes. Portuguese allows fairly flexible word order, especially for time expressions like hoje à noite.

All of these are grammatically correct:

Hoje à noite quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro.
Quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro hoje à noite.
Hoje à noite, quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro. (with a comma for emphasis)

Differences are mostly in emphasis:

Starting with Hoje à noite highlights the time first.
Putting hoje à noite at the end sounds more neutral in English (similar to I want to see a crime film with Pedro tonight).

For everyday use, the two most natural versions are:

Hoje à noite quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro.
Quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro hoje à noite.

Why is it um filme policial and not o filme policial?

Um is the indefinite article (a / one), and o is the definite article (the).

um filme policial – a crime film, not specified which one.
o filme policial – the crime film, referring to a specific one that both speakers know or have already mentioned.

In your sentence:

Hoje à noite quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro.

you are just expressing a wish to see some crime film with Pedro; you are not necessarily referring to a particular, previously mentioned movie.

If you already had a specific film in mind and both people knew which one, you could say:

Hoje à noite quero ver o filme policial com o Pedro.
(for example, that crime film we talked about yesterday)

Could I say Hoje à noite vou ver um filme policial com o Pedro instead? How is that different from quero ver?

Yes, you can say both, but they focus on slightly different things:

Hoje à noite quero ver um filme policial com o Pedro.
– I want to watch a crime film with Pedro tonight.
– Emphasises your desire or wish.
Hoje à noite vou ver um filme policial com o Pedro.
– I am going to watch a crime film with Pedro tonight.
– Emphasises a plan, something that is decided or expected to happen.

In practice:

Use quero ver when you are talking about what you would like to do.
Use vou ver when you are talking about what you are going to / will actually do, especially when it is already arranged.