Breakdown of Quando eu for a Portugal, quero conhecer Lisboa.
Questions & Answers about Quando eu for a Portugal, quero conhecer Lisboa.
Because after quando when you are talking about a future event, Portuguese normally uses the future subjunctive.
So:
- Quando eu vou a Portugal... sounds wrong here for the intended meaning.
- Quando eu for a Portugal... means when I go to Portugal / when I eventually go to Portugal.
This is a very common pattern in Portuguese:
- Quando eu tiver tempo... = when I have time
- Quando ele chegar... = when he arrives / when he gets here
- Quando nós formos... = when we go
English usually uses the present after when for future meaning, but Portuguese often uses the future subjunctive instead.
For is the future subjunctive form of ir (to go) for eu.
Here is the full future subjunctive of ir:
- eu for
- tu fores
- ele/ela/você for
- nós formos
- vós fordes
- eles/elas/vocês forem
So in the sentence:
- Quando eu for a Portugal... = When I go to Portugal...
Even though for looks unusual to an English speaker, it is just a verb form of ir.
Because ir usually takes a preposition showing movement to a place, not location in a place.
- ir a Portugal = to go to Portugal
- estar em Portugal = to be in Portugal
So:
- Quando eu for a Portugal... = when I go to Portugal
- Quando eu estiver em Portugal... = when I am in Portugal
A useful contrast:
- Vou a Lisboa. = I’m going to Lisbon.
- Estou em Lisboa. = I’m in Lisbon.
Because Portugal normally does not take an article in standard usage here.
In Portuguese, a + o = ao and a + a = à, but only if the noun has an article.
Compare:
- Vou ao Brasil. = I’m going to Brazil.
(a + o Brasil = ao Brasil) - Vou a Portugal. = I’m going to Portugal.
(no article, so no contraction)
This is something you often just have to learn country by country, because some country names use an article and others usually do not.
Yes, you can sometimes hear ir para Portugal, but ir a Portugal is perfectly normal and very standard.
A rough tendency is:
- ir a often focuses on the destination or the act of going
- ir para can sometimes suggest heading there, going there for a period, or even moving there
But in real life, the difference is not always sharp, and both may appear depending on context and speaker.
In this sentence, Quando eu for a Portugal... is a very natural European Portuguese way to say it.
Because conhecer is the normal verb for to know / become acquainted with / get to know a place, person, or thing through experience.
So:
- conhecer Lisboa = to get to know Lisbon / to see Lisbon / to experience Lisbon
You would not use saber here.
Saber means to know a fact or to know how to do something:
- Sei a resposta. = I know the answer.
- Sei nadar. = I know how to swim.
You could also say:
- quero visitar Lisboa = I want to visit Lisbon
That is also correct, but it is slightly different in tone:
- visitar = visit
- conhecer = get to know, see, experience
With cities and countries, conhecer is very common.
No. In this sentence, it means to get to know Lisbon or to see Lisbon for the first time.
This can feel strange to English speakers because know in English often sounds like a finished state. But in Portuguese, conhecer can express the idea of becoming acquainted with a place or person.
So:
- Quero conhecer Lisboa. = I want to get to know Lisbon / I want to see Lisbon.
If you already know Lisbon, you could say:
- Já conheço Lisboa. = I already know Lisbon / I’ve already been to Lisbon.
Yes, it can be omitted.
Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb form usually shows who the subject is:
- Quando eu for a Portugal...
- Quando for a Portugal...
Both are possible.
Including eu can add:
- emphasis
- clarity
- contrast
For example:
- Quando eu for a Portugal, quero conhecer Lisboa.
- Quando tu fores a Portugal, queres conhecer o Porto?
Here, using eu and tu helps create contrast.
Because Quando eu for a Portugal is an introductory subordinate clause, and it is standard to separate it from the main clause with a comma.
So the structure is:
- Quando eu for a Portugal, = subordinate time clause
- quero conhecer Lisboa. = main clause
This is similar to English:
- When I go to Portugal, I want to see Lisbon.
The comma helps show the sentence structure clearly.
Yes, and it means something slightly different.
- Quando eu for a Portugal... = when I go to Portugal
- Quando eu estiver em Portugal... = when I am in Portugal
The first focuses on the trip or arrival as a future event.
The second focuses on being there.
Both can work depending on what you want to emphasize.
In European Portuguese, native speakers often reduce unstressed vowels, so the sentence may sound more compact than it looks in writing.
A rough guide:
- Quando eu for a Portugal, quero conhecer Lisboa.
Things to notice:
- eu is often pronounced very weakly
- quero in European Portuguese often sounds closer to quêru
- unstressed vowels may become very reduced
- Portugal in European Portuguese sounds different from many Brazilian pronunciations
You do not need to pronounce every written vowel strongly. European Portuguese often has a tighter, more reduced rhythm than English learners expect.
Yes, it fits European Portuguese very well.
It is also understandable in Brazilian Portuguese, but a Brazilian speaker might more often choose slightly different phrasing depending on context, such as:
- Quando eu for a Portugal...
- Quando eu for para Portugal...
The original sentence is absolutely natural for Portugal Portuguese, especially because ir a + place is very common there.
A very useful pattern is:
Quando + future subjunctive, main clause
Example from your sentence:
- Quando eu for a Portugal, quero conhecer Lisboa.
You can build many sentences this way:
- Quando eu tiver dinheiro, vou viajar. = When I have money, I’m going to travel.
- Quando chegarmos, telefonamos. = When we arrive, we’ll call.
- Quando ela puder, vem cá. = When she can, she’ll come here.
This is one of the most important sentence patterns in Portuguese for talking about future situations.