Breakdown of Ele vai ao ginásio e eu vou à biblioteca.
eu
I
e
and
ele
he
ao
to the / at the (m.sg; f.sg à, m.pl aos, f.pl às)
à
at the (fem. sg.) / to the (fem. sg.)
ir
to go
a biblioteca
the library
o ginásio
the gym
Questions & Answers about Ele vai ao ginásio e eu vou à biblioteca.
Why do we use ao before ginásio but à before biblioteca?
In Portuguese, the preposition a (to) merges with the word for "the" (o or a). Because ginásio is masculine, it uses o, so a + o becomes ao. Because biblioteca is feminine, it uses a, and a + a merges into à.
What does the backwards accent on à mean?
That accent is called a grave accent, and it tells us that a contraction happened. It shows that the preposition a (to) and the feminine article a (the) bumped into each other and merged into one letter. It is pronounced as an open "ah" sound.
Vai and vou look completely different. Are they the same verb?
Could I say ele vai para o ginásio instead of ao ginásio?
You could, but it changes the meaning. In Portuguese, using the preposition a (as in ao or à) for going somewhere implies a short visit with the intention of returning soon, which makes sense for a gym or library trip. Using para implies moving somewhere permanently or for a much longer time.
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