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Conditional Clauses in Portuguese

The document discusses conditional clauses in Portuguese, including how to conjugate verbs in the conditional tense and different contexts for its usage. It also examines the equivalents of different conditional sentence structures in English and their Portuguese translations, such as the zero, first, second, and third conditionals.

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Ecaterina Valcescu
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64 views

Conditional Clauses in Portuguese

The document discusses conditional clauses in Portuguese, including how to conjugate verbs in the conditional tense and different contexts for its usage. It also examines the equivalents of different conditional sentence structures in English and their Portuguese translations, such as the zero, first, second, and third conditionals.

Uploaded by

Ecaterina Valcescu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Conditional clauses in Portuguese

In Portuguese, we use the conditional tense to express desire, talk about unreal scenarios, or convey
good manners. As you’ll soon see, however, the imperfect tense serves the same purpose and is more
common in spoken language.

In the first half of this post, we’ll look into the Portuguese conditional tense – conjugation and usage.
In the second half, we’ll find out what the Portuguese equivalents of English conditionals look like.

Portuguese conditional tense

Conjugation

It is relatively easy to conjugate verbs in the conditional tense. We go from the infinitive form (our
stem) and add the following endings to it: -ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -iam.

Let’s take the verb gostar as an example:

The following verbs are exceptions to the above (the endings are the same but the stem doesn’t
correspond to the infinitive form):
Usage

We can use the conditional tense in several situations as shown below. In spoken language, however,
the imperfect* tense is more common (and sounds more colloquial).

That said, let’s take a look at the different contexts where we can use the conditional tense.

Desire

We use the conditional tense to express desire or wish for something:

Gostaria de ir ao cinema. Queres vir comigo?

I’d like to go to the cinema. Do you want to come?

Adoraria comer um gelado agora.

I’d love to eat ice cream now.

Here’s the more colloquial version with the imperfect tense:

Gostava de ir ao cinema. Queres vir comigo?

Adorava comer um gelado agora.

Unreal scenarios

We also use the conditional tense to talk about unreal scenarios:

Se o Gustavo fosse vivo teria agora 114 anos.

If Gustavo was alive, he would be 114 years old.

The more colloquial version with the imperfect tense:

Se o Gustavo fosse vivo tinha agora 114 anos.


Future in the past

We use the conditional to, from a time in the past, refer to the future.

Eu sabia que chegaria atrasado à reunião.

I knew I’d come late to the meeting.

Politeness

Finally, we use the conditional tense to convey good manners, not least when, as customers, we
order something:

Gostaria de provar o sumo de ananás, por favor.

I’d like to try pineapple juice, please.

Here’s the colloquial version with the imperfect:

Gostava de provar o sumo de ananás, por favor.

Portuguese equivalents of English conditionals

A conditional sentence has two clauses comprising (1) a condition and (2) a result.

The if-clause tells you the condition (If you go to bed sooner tonight) and the main clause tells you
the result (you will feel rested tomorrow). The order of the clauses does not change the meaning.

In what follows, we’ll now take a look at different types of English conditional sentences and see what
the Portuguese equivalents look like.

Zero conditional – generally true

In English, the zero conditional is used to talk about things that are generally true (When the sun goes
down, it gets dark).

In Portuguese, we use the future subjunctive* in the if-clause and the present tense in the main one.

Future sub. (if clause) > present ind. (main clause)


Se não regarmos as plantas, elas morrem.

If we don’t water the plants, they perish.

Another example with the main clause coming first:

Present ind. (main clause) > future sub. (if clause)

O gelo derrete se o aqueceres.

Ice melts if you heat it up.

First conditional – realistic

In English, the first conditional is used to talk about future scenarios that we believe are possible
(When I finish work, I’ll call you.)

In this context, we use the future subjunctive for the if-clause and the future indicative for the main
one.

Future sub. (if-clause) > future ind. (main clause)

Se dormires bem esta noite, amanhã vais-te sentir melhor.

If you sleep well tonight, tomorrow you’ll feel better.

Again, the order in which the clauses appear doesn’t matter:

Future ind. (main clause) > future sub. (if-clause)

Certamente que vamos emagrecer se reduzirmos à comida.

We’ll certainly lose weight if we cut down on the food.

Second conditional – unrealistic

In English, the second conditional is used to denote wishful thinking, thought experiments, and
suppositions (I wouldn’t worry if I were you.)
In this context, we use the imperfect subjunctive in the if-clause and the conditional tense in the
main:

Imperfect sub. (if-clause) > conditional (main clause)

Se fosse rico compraria um carro.

If I was rich, I would buy a car.

Another example with reversed clause-order:

Conditional (main clause) > imperfect sub. (if-clause)

Andaria sempre de t-shirt se vivesse no Equador.

I would always wear t-shirts if I lived in Ecuador.

Third conditional

In English, the third conditional is used to imagine the result of an unrealistic action or situation in the
past (If he had studied harder, he would have passed the exam).

In this context, we use a compound structure in the if-clause and the conditional in the main:

Imperfect sub. [ter] + past participle (if-clause) > conditional (main clause)

If you hadn’t have any regrets, you would not have admitted your mistake.

Se você não tivesse nenhum arrependimento, não teria admitido seu erro.

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