Explain “fazer conta de + verb” to me

Portuguese Questions
1

I came across this phrase in a text from a family member (a native Portuguese speaker from the central region of Portugal): “Façam conta de almoçar em casa dos tios.” The context is that he’s my wife’s tio and he’s inviting us to have lunch at their home in our upcoming trip to Portugal.

I looked it up and learned that “fazer conta de + verb” means “to plan to do something.”

My question is, how is it different than just the informal future “ir + verb”? Is there some kind of nuance or hidden implication when using “fazer conta de + verb”?

Why didn’t he say something like, “Almocem em casa dos tios” or “Vão almoçar em casa dos tios”?

An example I saw is “Faço conta de chegar no dia 9.” How’s that different than “Vou chegar no dia 9”?

I’m an A1 learner trying to understand how the language is used in daily life in Portugal without getting too bogged down by gramma, haha.

Obrigado :blush:

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@jameszhan9592, it’s comparable to saying “I plan on doing X” vs “I will do X” in English. The relative is in a way highlighting that you should plan for that lunch when organizing your day, not simply saying “go”.

“Faço conta de chegar no dia 9” is like saying “I count on arriving on the 9th” or “I expect to arrive on the 9th”, again highlighting that it’s a plan. The speaker may not mean anything by this or they may want to imply that there is at least some uncertainty around the date. We can only know for sure with added context.

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Understood. Thank you so much!!

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