Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Eles vão doar o dinheiro para ajudar a comunidade. - They are going to donate the money to help the community.

Eles vão doar o dinheiro para ajudar a comunidade.

They are going to donate the money to help the community.

Breakdown of Eles vão doar o dinheiro para ajudar a comunidade.

Questions & Answers about Eles vão doar o dinheiro para ajudar a comunidade.

Why do we need para before ajudar? Can't we just say "doar o dinheiro ajudar"?

In Portuguese, when you want to express the purpose of an action (meaning "in order to"), you must use para followed by the infinitive verb. While English often just uses "to" as in "to help", Portuguese needs para ajudar to show exactly why the money is being donated.

Why use para instead of por in this sentence?

You use para because it indicates a goal or purpose. Think of it as looking forward to the end result: the community being helped. Por is generally used to talk about the cause behind an action, the method, or moving through a place.

Is vão doar the only way to say "will donate"?

You could use the formal future tense (doarão), but vão doar (combining the verb ir with the infinitive doar) is much more common in everyday spoken Portuguese. It translates perfectly to "are going to donate".

Why is it a comunidade? How do I know it is a feminine word?