vou/vais/vai/vamos/vão

Ir Present Tense

Foundations

The verb ir (to go) is a foundational building block in Portuguese. It is used to talk about where you are going right now and, even more importantly, what you are going to do in the future.

How It Works

The verb ir is highly irregular, meaning its forms look very different from the infinitive. It has two primary roles:

1. Movement: It describes moving from one place to another. To indicate a destination, it uses the prepositions a or para. Use a for a temporary trip (e.g., Vou à praia) and para for a longer stay or permanent move (e.g., Vou para Portugal). In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, you may hear no/na used for destinations, but this is considered informal. Other prepositions like de (origin/means), com (company), or por (path) describe how you travel.

2. The Future: In daily conversation, speakers use the present tense of ir followed by another verb (the infinitive). This is known as the near future.

Key Forms to Recognize:

  • Eu vou (I go / I am going)
  • Tu vais (You go - singular informal)
  • Você/Ele/Ela vai (You/He/She goes)
  • Nós vamos (We go)
  • Vocês/Eles/Elas vão (You all/They go)

In Brazil, you will often hear a gente vai instead of nós vamos to say 'we go'.

Examples (4)

  1. Eu vou ao mercado.

    I am going to the market.

    Word by Word: I go to-the market.

    Here, 'vou' acts as a main verb indicating movement to a destination.

  2. Nós vamos comer agora.

    We are going to eat now.

    Word by Word: We go eat now.

    This shows 'ir' acting as an auxiliary verb to express a future intent.

  3. Eles vão viajar amanhã.

    They are going to travel tomorrow.

    Word by Word: They go travel tomorrow.

    Notice that no preposition is used between 'vão' and 'viajar' when expressing the future.

  4. A gente vai para a praia.

    We are going to the beach.

    Word by Word: The people go to the beach.

    A common Brazilian way to say 'we are going' using the 3rd person singular form 'vai'.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding 'a' before the second verb when expressing the future.

    Eu vou a comer.
    Eu vou comer.

    Unlike Spanish (voy a comer), Portuguese does not use a preposition between 'ir' and the main verb for the future.

  • Confusing 'vão' (they go) with 'veem' (they see).

    Eles vao ao cinema.
    Eles vão ao cinema.

    The tilde (~) is essential for the nasal sound in 'vão'. Without it, the word is misspelled and can be confused with other verbs.

How It Connects

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vou/vais/vai/vamos/vãoFoundationsIr Present Tense

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