The conditional perfect is a tenseNo definition set for tenseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. that is used to hypothesize about events that could have occurred in the past. It is a compound tenseNo definition set for compound tenseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. formed by combining ter(to have) in the conditional simple with the past participle of the main verb. The conditional perfect is equivalent to “would have + past participle” in English:
Se pudesse, eu teria ficado mais na festa.
If I could, I would have stayed longer at the party.
The conditional perfect is used in three main cases: to describe the hypothetical past result of some situation that did not take place, to speculate about a past situation that did not take place, or to express uncertainty. Would you like to know more about this verb tense? In this post, we will talk about its form and use. Shall we start?
The conditional perfect is a compound verb tense formed by combining an auxiliary verb with a main verb, using the formula below:
conditional simple
past participle
Você podia ter me ligado. Eu teria passado no supermercado antes de vir para cá.
You could have called me. I would have stopped by the supermarket before coming here.
Though ter is used most often in everyday Brazilian Portuguese, the verb haver(to have) can sometimes replace ter in the conditional perfect.
Se eu fosse você, eu haveria comprado aquela calça.
If I were you, I would have bought those pants.
Here are some more details about the two parts of this formula:
Below, you’ll find the forms of ter(to have) in the conditional simple tense.
Subject Pronouns | Conditional Simple ter(to have) |
|---|---|
eu(I) | teria |
tu(you) | terias |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | teria |
nós(we) | teríamos |
vós*(you, formal) | teríeis |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(they) | teriam |
The past participle is a form of a verb that is often used in Brazilian Portuguese perfect tenses.
Regular past participles usually end in -ado or -ido.
andar(to walk) ⇒ andado(walked)
Irregular past participles have forms that must be memorized.
abrir(to open) ⇒ aberto(opened)
In Brazilian Portuguese, there are verbs that have two past participle forms: a regular and an irregular one:
aceitar(to accept) ⇒ aceitado / aceito
The regular participle is used with the auxiliaries ter and haver(to have), whereas the irregulars use the auxiliaries ser and estar(to be). So you’ll always use the regular member of these pairs to form the conditional perfect.
The conditional perfect is used to talk about events and situations that could have happened in the past, but for some reason did not. For example:
Eu teria chegado mais cedo, mas eu estava trabalhando.
I would have come earlier, but I was working.
O professor teria corrigido os trabalhos, mas ele ficou doente.
The teacher would have graded the papers, but he got sick.
Below, you will read about when to use the conditional perfect. Let’s start!
The conditional perfect can be used in some “unreal” if-then sentences. We use the perfect conditional to describe the outcome that would have taken place in the past if some condition had been met. In these cases, though, the condition was not met, and so the result is “unreal” or “hypothetical.” For example:
Se eu tivesse acordado mais cedo, teria visto o sol nascer.
If I had woken up earlier, I would have seen the sunrise.
In these types of sentences, pluperfect subjunctive is used for the condition that was not met (the “if” part of the sentence) while the conditional perfect is used for the hypothetical result (the “then” part of the sentence).
We often use these kinds of sentences to express relief or regret.
Se eu tivesse acordado mais cedo, teria visto o sol nascer.
If I had woken up earlier, I would have seen the sunrise.
Se ele não tivesse chegado cedo, teria perdido o trem.
If he hadn’t arrived early, he would have missed the train.
In some cases, you can replace the conditional perfect in this type of sentence with other verb tenses:
Past perfect
In informal written and spoken language, we can optionally use the past perfect indicative instead of the conditional perfect.
Se eu tivesse acordado mais cedo, tinha visto o sol nascer.
lit. If I had woken up earlier, I had seen the sunrise.
Conditional simple
If the hypothetical result would have impacted the present or the future instead of the past, we always use the conditional simple instead of the conditional perfect:
Se tivesse visto a previsão do tempo, não estaria com frio agora.
If I had seen the forecast, I would not be cold now.
The conditional simple is used to express what you would do or might do, hypothetically, in the present or future.
Se parasse de chover, eu iria na praia.
If it stopped raining, I would go to the beach.
The conditional perfect is used to express what you would have done or might have done, hypothetically, in the past.
Eu teria chegado na hora, se não fosse o atraso do trem.
I would have been on time, if it was not for the train delay.
The conditional perfect can be used outside of a conditional sentence, as long as you are still speculating or imagining what would have happened in the past, if something had gone differently:
Ainda me arrependo de não ter viajado para os EUA no ano passado. Aquela teria sido uma viagem incrível.
I still regret not traveling to the USA last year. That would have been an amazing trip.
The conditional perfect is used to wonder or indicate uncertainty about something that happened in the past.
Most often, this happens in questions that do not require a response, as in:
Quem teria tentado me ligar ontem de manhã?
Who would have tried to call me yesterday morning?
But you can also use it in statements, to indicate that you’re alleging that something took place, but that your statement hasn’t been corroborated, as in:
Os especialistas acreditam que Picasso teria feito essa pintura.
The specialists believed that Picasso would have done this painting.
In informal written and spoken language, however, you will probably hear this use of the conditional perfect replaced with the preterite.
Quem tentou me ligar ontem de manhã?
Who tried to call me yesterday morning?
Os especialistas acreditam que Picasso fez essa pintura.
The specialists believed that Picasso made this painting.
In this post, we talked about the form and use of the conditional perfect.
This is a compound verb tense formed by combining ter(to have), in the conditional simple, and with a main verb in its past participle form.
The conditional perfect is used to describe what would have, could have, or might have happened in the past:
Use Type | Example |
|---|---|
Condition | Se tivesse visto a previsão do tempo, não teria saído de casa sem minha jaqueta de inverno. If I had seen the forecast, I would not have gotten out of my house without my winter jacket. |
Speculation | Eu acho que teria tido coragem de mudar de país. I think that I would have had the courage to change the country. |
Uncertainty | Teria sido o Carlos que deixou esse presente aqui? Would it have been Carlos who left this gift here? |
Now, it’s time to practice the conditional perfect with this activity!
