The near future with "ir"
To talk about plans and events happening in the near future, European Portuguese uses a simple structure: the present tense of the verb ir (to go) followed immediately by the infinitive of the main verb.
This translates directly to the English "going to [do something]" structure. Note that unlike the present continuous, there is no preposition between the two verbs.
Conjugating the near future
To change who is doing the action, you only conjugate the helping verb ir. The main verb stays in its infinitive form.
| Pronoun | ir | Structure |
|---|
| eu | vou | apresentar |
| tu | vais | apresentar |
| ele / ela / você | vai | apresentar |
| nós | vamos | apresentar |
| eles / elas / vocês | vão | apresentar |
Here is how you might use this with various subjects:
Future time markers
When talking about future plans, you will often use time markers like amanhã (tomorrow), depois (later), or phrases using the word próximo (next).
Because próximo acts as an adjective, it must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes. For example, it becomes próxima before a feminine word like semana (week).
Asking about future plans
To turn these statements into questions, you can use a question word at the beginning, or simply raise your intonation at the end of a normal sentence. The verb structure stays exactly the same.
