O voluntário vai recolher a roupa para doar.
The volunteer is going to collect the clothes to donate.
Breakdown of O voluntário vai recolher a roupa para doar.
ir
to go
para
to / for
a roupa
the clothes
o voluntário
the volunteer
Questions & Answers about O voluntário vai recolher a roupa para doar.
Why do we need para before doar?
In Portuguese, when you want to express the purpose of an action (doing something in order to do something else), you use para followed by the infinitive verb. English usually just says "to" (to donate), but Portuguese requires para to show this goal. Without it, the sentence wouldn't make sense.
Why does the sentence use the singular a roupa when the translation says "the clothes"?
In Portuguese, a roupa is frequently used as a singular collective noun to mean "clothing in general." While you can say as roupas, it is much more common in Portugal to use the singular a roupa when talking about a batch, pile, or general collection of clothes.
Could I use the verb colecionar instead of recolher to mean "collect"?
No, because they describe completely different actions. Colecionar is used for collecting items as a hobby, like stamps or coins. Recolher means to gather things up, fetch, or collect them for a practical reason, such as collecting donations, taking in the laundry, or picking up passengers.
Is vai recolher the future tense?
It is a very common way to talk about the future! It uses the present tense of the verb ir (to go) plus the infinitive recolher (to collect). This structure is exactly like saying "is going to collect" in English and is the preferred way to express future plans in everyday spoken Portuguese.