Simple Future in Portuguese

In Brief

Portuguese forms the simple future by adding -ei, -ás, -á, -emos, -eis, -ão to the whole infinitive: falar → falarei, comer → comerás, partir → partirão. It usually corresponds to English will, although everyday Portuguese often prefers ir + infinitive: vou falar rather than falarei. Three frequent verbs have shortened stems: fazer → far-, dizer → dir-, and trazer → trar-.

Overview

The futuro simples is a tense (a verb form that locates an event in time) used for actions and situations viewed as future: A reunião começará às nove means “The meeting will begin at nine.” Unlike English, Portuguese expresses this meaning in a single conjugated word. The verb ending normally identifies the subject, so a subject pronoun such as eu or nós is often unnecessary.

This is a B1 topic because it adds an important register choice to the near future you may already know. Register means the style appropriate to a situation, from relaxed conversation to formal writing. In ordinary conversation, speakers very often use present-tense ir plus an infinitive—the basic, unconjugated form of a verb: Vou telefonar mais tarde (“I’m going to call later”). The one-word future remains common in news, instructions, announcements, formal commitments, predictions, and careful speech.

The tense also does more than locate an event after now. Portuguese can use it to express a guess about the present: Onde estará a Ana? literally has a future form, but naturally means “I wonder where Ana is” or “Where could Ana be?” Learning both the basic future meaning and this probability meaning will help you understand authentic Portuguese.

How It Works

Add one set of endings to the infinitive

All three regular verb groups use the same endings. Keep the final -ar, -er, or -ir and attach the ending to the entire infinitive.

Person	Ending	falar (to speak)	comer (to eat)	partir (to leave)
eu	-ei	falarei	comerei	partirei
tu	-ás	falarás	comerás	partirás
ele / ela / você	-á	falará	comerá	partirá
nós	-emos	falaremos	comeremos	partiremos
vós	-eis	falareis	comereis	partireis
eles / elas / vocês	-ão	falarão	comerão	partirão

The written accents matter. The tu and third-person singular forms end in stressed -ás and -á. The third-person plural ends in -ão, not -am: eles falarão (“they will speak”). The first-person plural has no written accent: falaremos.

In most modern conversation, vós is rare. Portugal commonly uses vocês for plural “you,” while many Brazilian varieties use vocês almost exclusively; it takes the third-person plural form: vocês chegarão. Singular você likewise takes the third-person singular: você chegará. In regions where tu is used, the standard form is tu chegarás, though local speech patterns vary.

The three main irregular stems

The future endings themselves do not change. Only the stem—the part before the ending—is shortened in three common verbs.

Infinitive	Future stem	eu	tu	ele / ela / você	nós	eles / elas / vocês
fazer (to do, make)	far-	farei	farás	fará	faremos	farão
dizer (to say, tell)	dir-	direi	dirás	dirá	diremos	dirão
trazer (to bring)	trar-	trarei	trarás	trará	traremos	trarão

Do not copy these changes to similar-looking verbs without a reason. Common verbs such as ter, vir, poder, querer, and saber keep their full infinitives: terei, virei, poderei, quererei, saberei. The verb pôr gives porei; its circumflex disappears because the pronunciation and stress pattern change.

Negatives and questions

For a basic negative statement, place não before the verb:

• Não trabalharei no sábado. — “I will not work on Saturday.”
• Eles não aceitarão a proposta. — “They will not accept the proposal.”

Portuguese does not add an equivalent of English auxiliary do to make a question. Intonation, punctuation, or a question word signals the question:

• Virás amanhã? — “Will you come tomorrow?”
• Quando terminarão as obras? — “When will the construction work end?”

Simple future or ir + infinitive?

Both forms can refer to future time, but they do not always sound equally natural.

Form	Typical effect	Example
ir in the present + infinitive	conversational, planned, expected, often immediate	Vou enviar o ficheiro hoje. / Vou enviar o arquivo hoje.
simple future	neutral to formal prediction, announcement, promise, written plan	Enviarei o documento até sexta-feira.
present tense + future time phrase	scheduled or firmly arranged event	O comboio parte às oito. / O trem parte às oito.

English will does not automatically require the Portuguese simple future. In a casual message, “I’ll call you tonight” will often be Ligo-te esta noite or Vou ligar-te esta noite in European Portuguese, and Te ligo hoje à noite or Vou te ligar hoje à noite in Brazilian Portuguese. Telefonar-te-ei esta noite is grammatical but markedly formal.

Future meaning in subordinate clauses

After words such as quando (“when”) and se (“if”), Portuguese often uses the future subjunctive in a clause referring to a possible future event. The subjunctive is a verb form used when an event is not presented as a settled fact. The main result can still use the simple future:

• Quando chegares, jantaremos. — “When you arrive, we will have dinner.”
• Se tiver tempo, telefonarei. — “If I have time, I will call.”

Here chegares and tiver are not simple-future forms. English uses the present tense after “when” and “if,” so English-speaking learners need to pay particular attention to this Portuguese contrast.

Examples in Context

Portuguese	English	Note
Amanhã irei ao cinema.	Tomorrow I will go to the cinema.	A clear future event
Terás de esperar alguns minutos.	You will have to wait a few minutes.	Standard tu form
Faremos o trabalho juntos.	We will do the work together.	Irregular stem far-
Dirão a verdade?	Will they tell the truth?	Irregular stem dir-
A loja abrirá às dez.	The shop will open at ten.	Schedule or announcement
Enviarei o contrato ainda hoje.	I will send the contract later today.	Formal commitment
Não esqueceremos a tua ajuda.	We will not forget your help.	Negative statement
Vocês receberão uma confirmação por e-mail.	You will receive a confirmation by email.	Plural vocês + third-person plural
Quem trará as bebidas?	Who will bring the drinks?	Irregular stem trar-
Um dia conhecerás Lisboa.	One day you will visit Lisbon.	Prediction addressed to tu
Será que ele vem hoje?	Do you think he is coming today?	Será que...? introduces uncertainty
Onde estarão as chaves?	Where could the keys be?	Guess about the present
Quando chegares, falaremos com calma.	When you arrive, we will talk calmly.	Future subjunctive + simple future
Se chover, ficaremos em casa.	If it rains, we will stay home.	Possible condition and result
Daqui a vinte anos, muitas cidades serão diferentes.	Twenty years from now, many cities will be different.	General prediction

Common Mistakes

Removing the infinitive ending

• Wrong: Eu falrei com ela amanhã.
• Right: Eu falarei com ela amanhã.
• Why: Regular future forms keep the whole infinitive falar before adding -ei. This differs from many present-tense patterns, where you remove -ar, -er, or -ir first.

Using a regular stem for fazer, dizer, or trazer

• Wrong: Fazerei o possível.
• Right: Farei o possível.
• Why: These verbs use far-, dir-, and trar- in the simple future: farei, direi, trarei.

Confusing -ão and -am

• Wrong: Amanhã eles chegaram cedo.
• Right: Amanhã eles chegarão cedo.
• Why: Chegaram is normally a past form: “they arrived.” Chegarão means “they will arrive.” The spelling and stress distinguish them.

Matching você to a second-person ending

• Wrong: Você terás de esperar.
• Right: Você terá de esperar.
• Why: Although você addresses the listener, grammatically it takes third-person forms. Use tu terás or você terá.

Using the future indicative after every future quando or se

• Wrong: Quando chegarás, falaremos.
• Right: Quando chegares, falaremos.
• Why: An unsettled event introduced by future quando normally takes the future subjunctive. Quando chegarás? is correct only as a direct question: “When will you arrive?”

Translating every English will mechanically

• Awkward in casual conversation: Telefonar-te-ei mais tarde.
• Natural conversational choices: Vou telefonar-te mais tarde. / Ligo-te mais tarde.
• Why: The simple future is correct, but ordinary speech often prefers ir + infinitive or the present tense. Choose according to context and register, not by replacing will word for word.

Usage Notes

Formality and regional preferences

The simple future is fully current throughout the Portuguese-speaking world, but its frequency depends on medium, region, and situation. It is especially visible in regulations, contracts, journalism, forecasts, speeches, formal correspondence, and automated notices: O pagamento será efetuado no prazo de cinco dias (“Payment will be made within five days”). It can also sound natural in speech for a firm prediction, solemn promise, or rhetorical effect.

In relaxed speech, both European and Brazilian Portuguese frequently use ir + infinitive. Brazilian Portuguese generally favors this alternative very strongly in conversation. European Portuguese may use the simple future somewhat more readily in careful speech, but vou fazer remains an ordinary and natural choice. Do not treat the contrast as an absolute regional rule.

Vocabulary and pronoun placement can reveal regional style even when the tense is the same. European Portuguese may have Enviar-te-ei o ficheiro; Brazilian Portuguese may have Enviarei o arquivo para você in formal writing and Vou te enviar o arquivo in conversation. All refer to a future action, but their social and regional feel differs.

Time words make the reference clear

Common expressions include amanhã (“tomorrow”), logo (“soon”), mais tarde (“later”), na próxima semana (“next week”), and daqui a... (“in... from now”):

• Daqui a dois meses, mudaremos de casa. — “In two months, we will move house.”
• Mais tarde saberás o resultado. — “Later, you will know the result.”

A time expression is not required if context already points forward: Não te preocupes; resolveremos o problema (“Don’t worry; we will solve the problem”).

Promises, predictions, and instructions

The simple future can make a commitment sound deliberate: Nunca te esquecerei (“I will never forget you”). In institutional writing, it can state what a person or system is expected to do: O candidato apresentará os documentos originais (“The applicant shall/will present the original documents”). English may use shall, must, or a present-tense instruction in such contexts; translate the force of the sentence, not merely the tense.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Use

Guesses about the present

A future form can mark uncertainty rather than future time. The speaker infers or wonders about a present fact:

• Que horas serão? — “What time could it be?”
• Estará ele em casa? — “Could he be at home?”
• Terá uns quarenta anos. — “He/She is probably about forty.”

The construction será que... is extremely useful and frequent. It introduces a question with uncertainty or curiosity, while the following verb takes whatever tense its own meaning requires:

• Será que ela sabe? — “Do you think she knows?”
• Será que vão aceitar a proposta? — “Do you think they will accept the proposal?”

Do not translate será que literally as “will it be that.” English usually uses “I wonder,” “could,” “do you think,” or simply a question.

Object pronouns and mesoclisis

An object pronoun is a short word representing the person or thing affected by the action, such as te (“you”) or o (“it/him”). In highly formal Portuguese, especially formal European Portuguese, such a pronoun can be inserted between the future stem and its ending. This is called mesoclisis (placing a pronoun inside the verb):

• dar + te + ei → dar-te-ei — “I will give you”
• enviar + lhe + emos → enviar-lhe-emos — “we will send him/her/you”
• far + se + á → far-se-á — “it will be done”

Mesoclisis is a real part of the written standard, but it is formal and often avoidable. A word that requires the pronoun before the verb—such as não—blocks it: Não te darei o livro, not não dar-te-ei. Everyday Brazilian Portuguese commonly places the pronoun before the future form (te darei) or, more naturally, uses ir + infinitive (vou te dar). Learners should recognize mesoclisis before trying to produce it.

Relationship to the conditional and future perfect

The Portuguese conditional uses many of the same stems but different endings: falaria, faria, diria. Compare farei (“I will do”) with faria (“I would do”). The future perfect combines the future of ter with a past participle (a form such as feito in “done”): terei feito (“I will have done”). It presents an action as complete by a future reference point: Até sexta-feira, terei terminado (“By Friday, I will have finished”).

Practice Tips

1. Build forms from complete infinitives. Choose five common verbs and say the six forms aloud: falarei, falarás, falará, falaremos, falareis, falarão. Then repeat with fazer, dizer, and trazer so their shortened stems become automatic.
2. Rewrite the same message in three registers. Compare Ligo amanhã, Vou ligar amanhã, and Ligarei amanhã. Label each as a scheduled present, a conversational future, or a more formal/deliberate future. This prevents word-for-word translation from English will.
3. Separate the two-clause pattern. Make cards such as Quando ___ (chegar), falaremos and Se ___ (ter) tempo, irei. Practice choosing the future subjunctive in the condition or time clause and the simple future in the result.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Near Future (ir + infinitive) — the most common conversational alternative for plans and expected events.
• Next step: Conditional — uses related stems with endings meaning “would.”
• Next step: Future Perfect — describes what will already be complete by a future point.