How to Talk About the Future in Portuguese

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The first time an Uber driver asked me about my plans for the weekend, my brain completely short-circuited.

I knew all the formal future tense conjugations from my books (farei, direi, falarei…), so I started stringing together a sentence.

But the words felt clunky and foreign, and the look on his face told me I sounded like a robot fresh out of a 19th-century grammar school. It was (mildly) embarrassing, and the whole point of our conversation was lost.

That’s the thing with a lot of Portuguese you learn from translators, apps, and textbooks. They teach you a bunch of rules that, in real life, you’ll almost never use.

The future tense is a perfect example of this. While it’s technically correct to say “eu farei isso” (I will do that), almost nobody says that in everyday conversation.

You might hear it in a very old movie or read it in the Bible, but not at the dinner table or when chatting with friends.

Because the last thing I want is for you to make the same awkward mistakes I did, here’s what I’ve figured out works and how to think about the concept of “the future.”

The “Going to” Future (Your New Best Friend)

This simple formula is your key to a natural-sounding future tense.

Forget the fancy, formal conjugations for a minute.

In my experience, the only real future tense you need to master for day-to-day life is the futuro próximo. It’s the Portuguese version of “I’m going to,” “you are going to,” etc. Most importantly, it’s what people actually use.

It’s also incredibly easy to form. All you need to do is conjugate the verb ir (to go) in the present tense and stick any other verb you want in its original infinitive form right after it.

Here’s a quick refresher on the ir conjugation:

Portuguese	English
Eu vou	I am going
Tu vais	You are going
Ele/Ela vai	He/She is going
Nós vamos	We are going
Eles/Elas vão	They are going

[!tip] A Quick Note on “Nós vamos” Here’s a little secret you might notice later on. In very formal settings, sometimes you’ll hear someone use “vamos” when addressing just one person. It’s a bit like a formal “you” or the “royal we.” Don’t worry about using it this way, but it’s good to have on your radar!

See how easy that is? Now, just add a verb like comer (to eat), and you’re all set.

A friend calls you and asks what you’re up to. You can say: “Vou comer agora.” (I’m going to eat now.)

Or if you’re with a group deciding on plans: “Vamos comer?” (Are we going to eat? / Shall we eat?)

[!tip] Shouldn’t I say “Eu vou comer?” or “Nós vamos comer?” You can, but you don’t have to! In Portuguese, each verb conjugation is so distinct that the verb ending itself tells you who’s doing the action. Since vou can only mean “I go” and vamos can only mean “we go,” the pronouns (eu, nós) are often dropped. It’s a simple trick that will make you sound a million times more natural.

When to Use Futuro Próximo

This is the one you’ll lean on for all your immediate plans, intentions, and even upcoming weather predictions.

Situation	Portuguese	English
Planning your morning	Vou tomar um duche.	I’m going to take a shower.
Confirming plans with a friend	Vais à festa?	Are you going to the party?
Asking about leftovers	Vai comer isso?	Are you going to eat that?
Getting ready for a night out	Vamos jantar fora.	We’re going out for dinner.
Staring at a grey sky	Vai chover.	It’s going to rain.

[!tip] A “False Friend” Vocabulary Hack for Future Plans One easy way to talk about your plans is to imagine saying “pretend” (in English) but in Portuguese, it means “to intend” or “to aim.”

The verb? Pretender (to intend). It’s useful for describing your future intentions without getting tangled in complex grammar!

In everyday life, the futuro próximo is the best way to talk about the weather.

The simplicity is a total lifesaver, especially when you’re still trying to put sentences together without having a mild panic attack.

The Museum Tense: Futuro Simples

This is the formal, “tuxedo” future tense I mentioned earlier. Honestly, “tuxedo” isn’t even formal enough—it’s more like a historical artifact you’d find in a museum.

You will see it in very old texts: literature, poetry, the Bible, or maybe in media trying to portray those time periods. You will almost never hear it in modern conversation, even in professional or academic settings.

It involves adding specific endings to the infinitive verb. For example, falar (to speak) becomes falarei (I will speak).

[!warning] Don’t get tripped up by this While it’s great to recognize futuro simples when you see it in old books, please don’t worry about using it in your day-to-day conversations. You’ll sound unnaturally formal, like you’re wearing a fedora and saying “m’lady” in English. Focus on the futuro próximo. Your friends, neighbors, and baristas will thank you for it.

There are only three common irregular verbs in this tense:

• dizer (to say)
• fazer (to do)
• trazer (to bring)

Here’s how they change, just so you can recognize them if you see them.

dizer → direi (I will say)

Subject	Conjugation	Translation
Eu	direi	I will say
Tu	dirás	You will say
Ele/Ela	dirá	He/She will say
Nós	diremos	We will say
Eles/Elas	dirão	They will say

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fazer → farei (I will do)

Subject	Conjugation	Translation
Eu	farei	I will do
Tu	farás	You will do
Ele/Ela	fará	He/She will do
Nós	faremos	We will do
Eles/Elas	farão	They will do

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trazer → trarei (I will bring)

Subject	Conjugation	Translation
Eu	trarei	I will bring
Tu	trarás	You will bring
Ele/Ela	trará	He/She will bring
Nós	traremos	We will bring
Eles/Elas	trarão	They will bring

I’d save memorizing these for way, way down the road, unless you plan on acting in a Shakespearean play in Portuguese. 🧑‍⚖️

The Present Tense Trick

Using the present tense for future plans is a common shortcut you’ll hear all the time.

Here’s another little secret Portuguese speakers use: they’ll often just use the present tense to talk about future plans, especially if a time marker like “tomorrow” or “next week” makes the context obvious.

It’s a way of showing the event is a sure thing. Kind of like when we say, “I’m leaving at six” in English instead of “I will leave at six.”

So, you might hear:

• “Amanhã tenho uma consulta.” (Tomorrow I have an appointment.)
• “Saio às seis.” (I’m leaving at six.)
• “Chego lá às oito.” (I’m getting there at eight.)
• “Na segunda começo o trabalho novo.” (I start the new job on Monday.)

This is another simple, natural way to talk about the future without getting tangled up in conjugations. Don’t make things harder on yourself than they need to be. To see how these future tricks fit into the complete timeline of the language, check out my master guide on Portuguese Verb Tenses.

Frequently Asked Questions

[!faq]- Does futuro próximo work for all verbs? Yes! Unlike other tenses with lots of irregular forms, futuro próximo is extremely consistent. You only need to conjugate the verb ir (to go), and the second verb is always in its infinitive form (e.g., fazer, comer, ter). It’s a very reliable and straightforward tense to use.

[!faq]- When is it actually important to recognize futuro simples? Think of futuro simples as something you’ll read, not say. It’s for very formal and often archaic written contexts like classic literature or historical texts. However, you might hear one specific form in daily conversation: the verb ser (to be) is often used to express wonder or doubt. For example, you might hear someone look at the sky and say: “Será que vai chover amanhã?” (I wonder if it will rain tomorrow?). That será is from the futuro simples, and it’s a fixed, natural-sounding way to pose a question about the future.

[!faq]- How can I practice using the future tense more? The best way to practice is to use it in real life. Next time you’re talking to a friend or a neighbor, try to describe your plans for the weekend or for the next day using futuro próximo. Or, try the present tense trick. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; that’s how we all learn.