Fabio at English This Way reminded me of a common problem that non-native Portuguese speakers run into while in Brazil. In terms of the verbs ‘ir’ (to go) and ‘vir’ (to come), Americans see them as interchangable while Brazilians don’t.

Example

In English – “I’m coming to your house right now” (Right)
In Portuguese (but translated back, it means) – “I’m going to your house right now”

Inglês – “Eu estou vindo para sua casa agora” (Wrong)
Português – “Eu estou indo para sua casa agora” (Right)

In Brazil, you can’t go to a place by coming there, you can only go there by going. Likewise, someone can only come to you, you can’t come to them. Questions?