Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O parque é muito bonito, mas eu vou ao cinema. - The park is very beautiful, but I am going to the cinema.

The verb ir (to go) is highly irregular. When saying 'I go' (eu), the form is vou. It doesn't follow the normal rules for verbs ending in '-ir', so you just have to memorize it!

The translation says 'I am going', but doesn't vou mean 'I go'?

Yes, it means both! In Portuguese, the simple present tense can be used for actions happening right now. So, eu vou translates to both 'I go' and 'I am going' depending on the context.

Where does the word ao come from?

It is a combination of two words. When the preposition a (to) sits next to the masculine word for 'the' (o), they merge into the contraction ao. Because cinema is a masculine noun, 'to the cinema' becomes ao cinema.

Why use é for 'is' here instead of está?

The verb ser (which gives us é) is used for permanent characteristics. Using é means the park is naturally and permanently beautiful, whereas está would imply it just looks beautiful right now.