Breakdown of Os nossos amigos vão connosco ao cinema.
Questions & Answers about Os nossos amigos vão connosco ao cinema.
In European Portuguese, possessives like meu, teu, nosso etc. are usually used with the definite article:
- os nossos amigos = literally the our friends → our friends
Using the article is the normal, neutral way to speak.
Leaving the article out (nossos amigos) is possible but is:
- more formal or literary, or
- more typical of Brazilian Portuguese
So in everyday European Portuguese, os nossos amigos sounds natural, while nossos amigos on its own can sound marked or foreign-influenced.
You can, and it is grammatically correct, but in European Portuguese it feels:
- a bit more formal, or
- a bit Brazilian in flavour
You are more likely to see Nossos amigos...:
- in titles, headings, or written language
- when someone wants to stress the possessive (contrast), e.g.
Nossos amigos vão connosco, os teus ficam em casa.
(Our friends are coming with us; yours are staying at home.)
For everyday neutral speech in Portugal, Os nossos amigos vão... is preferred.
Nosso / nossa / nossos / nossas agree in gender and number with the thing possessed:
- nosso amigo – our (male) friend
- nossa amiga – our (female) friend
- nossos amigos – our (male or mixed-group) friends
- nossas amigas – our (all-female) friends
So:
- Os nossos amigos vão connosco ao cinema.
→ our male or mixed group of friends
For only female friends, you would say:
- As nossas amigas vão connosco ao cinema.
→ our (female) friends are going with us to the cinema.
Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: it normally omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person and number.
- vão clearly shows 3rd person plural (they)
So (Eles) is usually left out:
- Os nossos amigos vão connosco ao cinema. – perfectly complete
You could say Eles vão connosco ao cinema, but:
- adding eles often adds emphasis or contrast, e.g.
Eles vão connosco ao cinema, mas tu ficas em casa.
(They are coming with us to the cinema, but you’re staying home.)
English and Portuguese don’t always match their use of come and go.
In Portuguese, in a neutral sentence like this, speakers usually think from the point of view of the friends, not the speaker, so they use ir (to go):
- Os nossos amigos vão connosco ao cinema.
= Our friends go / are going with us to the cinema.
You can say Os nossos amigos vêm connosco ao cinema, but:
- vêm connosco strongly feels like they are coming along with us (towards where we are now).
- vão connosco is the most common, neutral way to express the idea that we all go together to a third place.
So the natural default in European Portuguese here is vão (from ir, to go), even though English uses come with us.
Vão is the present indicative of ir (they go).
In Portuguese, the simple present can cover several English meanings depending on context:
- habitual: Eles vão muitas vezes ao cinema. → They often go to the cinema.
- right now / planned future (context-dependent):
Eles vão connosco ao cinema (hoje à noite). → They are going / are coming with us to the cinema (this evening).
It can also be near-future when followed by an infinitive:
- Eles vão ver um filme. → They are going to watch a film.
In your sentence, with a clear plan, vão naturally corresponds to English are going.
You could, and it is grammatically correct, but it sounds odd in most contexts.
In European Portuguese:
- ir on its own (vão) is the normal way to talk about going somewhere.
- estar a ir usually focuses on the physical movement in progress right now, and it is rarely used in practice.
Even if someone is already walking, they will usually still just say vão ao cinema, not estão a ir ao cinema.
So in almost all everyday situations, Vão connosco ao cinema is the natural sentence, not Estão a ir....
Connosco means with us.
It is a special combined form of com + nós that Portuguese uses with stressed pronouns:
- com
- migo → comigo (with me)
- com
- tigo → contigo (with you, singular informal)
- com
- nós → connosco (with us)
- com
- vós → convosco (with you, plural – old‑fashioned in most contexts)
- com
- si → consigo (with you – formal, or with him/her, depending on context)
You do not say com nós in standard Portuguese in a sentence like this; you must use connosco.
For European Portuguese, the standard spelling is connosco (with nn).
- The double n reflects com becoming con in contact with nós (assimilation), and both n sounds are written: con‑nos‑co → connosco.
In Brazilian Portuguese, the usual spelling is conosco (with a single n).
So:
- In Portugal: write connosco.
- In Brazil: write conosco.
As a learner of Portuguese from Portugal, you should use connosco.
Both can refer to with us, but:
- connosco is the standard European Portuguese form.
- com a gente is very common in Brazilian Portuguese and in some informal European speech, but it strongly sounds Brazilian in most contexts.
Also, a gente grammatically behaves like he/she/it (3rd person singular), not we:
- A gente vai ao cinema. → We go / are going to the cinema.
(Verb in 3rd person singular.)
In European Portuguese, for learners and in neutral contexts, prefer:
- connosco for with us
- nós vamos for we go
Ao is the contraction of a + o (to + the).
With ir (to go), ir a is the normal way to talk about short visits or going somewhere for an activity:
- ir ao cinema – go to the cinema (to watch a film)
- ir ao restaurante – go to the restaurant (to eat)
- ir ao médico – go to the doctor’s
Ir para often suggests going somewhere to stay or remain for a longer time, or emphasises the destination as a new “base”:
- Ir para Portugal – go (to live / stay) in Portugal
- Ir para casa – go home (and stay there)
So for the usual meaning of going to watch a movie, European Portuguese uses ir ao cinema, not ir para o cinema.
Ao cinema = to the cinema (direction / movement)
- Vamos ao cinema. → We’re going to the cinema.
No cinema = in / at the cinema (location)
- Estamos no cinema. → We are at the cinema.
- Trabalho no cinema. → I work at the cinema (the place)
OR possibly in cinema (in the film industry), depending on context.
So:
- vão connosco ao cinema – they are going with us to the cinema
- estão connosco no cinema – they are with us at the cinema
Yes, Os nossos amigos vão ao cinema connosco is grammatically correct and understandable.
However, the most natural word order for European Portuguese here is:
- Os nossos amigos vão connosco ao cinema.
Placing connosco earlier keeps the complement of company close to the verb vão, which sounds smoother:
- [subject] Os nossos amigos
- [verb] vão
- [with whom] connosco
- [where] ao cinema
Putting connosco at the end sounds slightly more marked or emphatic, but not wrong.
Yes, you can say:
- Os amigos vão connosco ao cinema.
The meaning changes slightly:
- Os nossos amigos = our friends (specifically the ones who are ours)
- Os amigos = the friends (friends already known from context, but not explicitly marked as ours)
In practice, if context is clear, Os amigos vão connosco ao cinema can still be understood as our friends are going with us, but it is less explicit.
If you want to make it clear they are our friends, keep nossos:
- Os nossos amigos vão connosco ao cinema.
Cinema in Portuguese can mean:
The place / building (like English the cinema or the movies):
- Vamos ao cinema. → We’re going to the cinema.
The activity (going to watch a film):
- Hoje vamos ao cinema. → We’re going to the movies today.
The art form / industry:
- Gosto muito de cinema. → I really like cinema / film.
In your sentence, ao cinema clearly refers to the place/activity of going to watch a film.