The conditional simple in Brazilian Portuguese is a that is used much like the construction “would” + in English. We use it most often to express the future of the past (futuro do pretérito) or to express what would or could happen in a hypothetical situation, as in the example below. However, there are other uses of this tense as well.
Eu viajaria hoje se pudesse.
I would travel today if I could.
In this post, we’ll take you through how to form the conditional simple in Brazilian Portuguese, then discuss when to use it. Finally we’ll cover how to place in sentences in the conditional simple. Do you want to know how to form and use this tense? Keep on reading!
To form the conditional simple in Brazilian Portuguese, start with the form of the verb, and add the conditional ending directly to that form.
falar(to speak) ⇒ falaia(I would speak)
Infinitive verbs in Brazilian Portuguese end with -ar, -er, -ir, or, in a very few cases, -or. The conditional simple uses the same endings for each type of infinitive, but there are different endings for different : -ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -íeis, -iam.
For example:
Subject Pronouns | escutar(to listen) | correr(to run) | dormir(to sleep) |
|---|---|---|---|
eu(I) | escutaria | correria | dormiria |
tu(you) | escutarias | correrias | dormirias |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | escutaria | correria | dormiria |
nós(we) | escutaríamos | correríamos | dormiríamos |
vós*(you, formal) | escutaríeis | correríeis | dormiríeis |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(they) | escutariam | correriam | dormiriam |
Remember to include the written accent on the i, as in í, for both the nós(we) and vós(you) forms of the conditional simple. This accent also tells you which part of the verb is pronounced with more emphasis. So make sure that you not only write the accent on the í, but also pronounce it more clearly!
Chegaríamos na hora marcada, se o trem não atrasasse.
We would arrive on time if the train was not late.
Did you notice that the form for eu(I) and você, ele, ela(you, he, she) are the same?
Se eu tivesse tempo, eu encontraria o Marcos para um café.
If I had time, I would meet Marcos for coffee.
Se eu tivesse tempo, ele encontraria o Marcos para um café.
If I had time, he would meet Marcos for coffee.
In Portuguese you can leave the subject or the subject pronoun out if it’s clear from context. However, in the examples above, when it is not clear who is meeting Marcos, you might need to mention the subject pronoun (eu encontraria or ele encontraria) instead of just using encontraria.
Though all verbs use the same endings in the conditional simple, irregular verbs will use the stem from the simple future tense. There are only three verbs in Brazilian Portuguese that are irregular in the conditional form: fazer(to do, to make), trazer(to bring), and dizer(to say). Take a look below at the irregular stem for each of these verbs:
fazer(to do, to make) ⇒ far-
trazer(to bring) ⇒ trar-
dizer(to say) ⇒ dir-
Here’s how to conjugate them in the conditional simple:
Subject Pronouns | fazer(to do, to make) | trazer(to bring) | trazer(to say) |
|---|---|---|---|
eu(I) | faria | traria | diria |
tu(you) | farias | trarias | dirias |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | faria | traria | diria |
nós(we) | faríamos | traríamos | diríamos |
vós*(you, formal) | faríeis | traríeis | diríeis |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(they) | fariam | trariam | diriam |
The conditional simple in Brazilian Portuguese is a verb tense used to express what would, could, or might happen. Below, we will talk about some specific situations where the conditional simple is used. Let’s start!
The conditional simple can refer to an event that was in the future at some past moment. This use of the conditional simple is often found in reported speech, as in:
Eu não sei o que aconteceu. Pedro prometeu que estaria na festa.
I don’t know what happened. Pedro promised he would be at the party.
Sofia falou que não viria para o almoço de domingo.
Sofia said that she would not come for lunch on Sunday.
In the sentences above, we are describing something that someone said (in the past) about the future. From our perspective now, the event being discussed may have already taken place (as in the first example) or it may still be in the future (as in the second). All that matters is that at the past moment being discussed, the event was still in the future.
In informal language, we often use the imperfect tense in place of the conditional simple.
Sofia falou que não vinha para o almoço de domingo.
Sofia said that she would not come for lunch on Sunday.
If the situation being described as the future of the past is now over, we often use can use ir(to go) in the imperfect + an infinitive verb instead of the conditional:
Pedro prometeu que ia estar na festa.
Pedro promised that he would be at the party.
The conditional is used to talk about what would happen if some condition was hypothetically met. We most often use this in if-then sentences, as in:
Se você pudesse escolher, em que país escolher, em que país moraria?
If you could choose, in which country would you live?
Notice that the verb in the conditional simple is part of the main clause, while the verb in the subordinate clause (introduced by se(if)) is in the imperfect subjunctive.
Sometimes, if you’re talking about a missed opportunity, the verb in the “if-clause” may be in the pluperfect subjunctive instead.
Se eu tivesse dormido mais, não estaria tão cansado agora.
If I had slept more, I wouldn’t be so tired now.
But as long as you’re talking about how things would be now or in the future, if that opportunity hadn’t been missed, you’ll use the conditional simple in the main clause.
Check out our post on “if-then” sentences in Brazilian Portuguese for more discussion and examples of this use of the conditional simple!
You can also use the conditional simple to talk about uncertain actions or to discuss what would or might hypothetically happen, even if you do not use an “if-clause.” For example:
Quem seria aquela pessoa que ligou para o Mateus?
Who would that person who called Mateus be?
Carolina anda muito quieta. Estaria preocupada com os exames?
Carolina is very quiet. Could she be worried about the exams?
Carlos adoraria te conhecer.
Carlos would love to meet you.
In everyday spoken language, the conditional simple is often replaced by the expression será que(will it be), which is equivalent to the English “I wonder” or “I wonder if.” The verb ser(to be) is in the simple future and followed by a verb conjugated in the simple present.
Quem será que é aquela pessoa que ligou para o Mateus?
I wonder, who is that person who called Mateus?
lit. Who will it be that is the person who called Mateus?
Carolina anda muito quieta. Será que ela está preocupada com os exames?
Carolina is very quiet. I wonder, is she worried about the exams?
lit. Carolina is very quiet. Will it be that she is worried about the exams?
The conditional simple is used to express surprise or indignation about an event.
Rodrigo tem tanto medo do mar e ainda assim vai viajar num cruzeiro. Nunca imaginaria isso.
Rodrigo is so afraid of the sea and yet he goes on a cruise. I would never have imagined this.
Eu não acredito! Amanda é tão gente boa. Ela não faria uma coisa dessas!
I don’t believe it! Amanda is such a nice person. She wouldn’t do that!
In Brazilian Portuguese, the expression quem diria, which is equivalent to the English “who would have thought” is used with the verb in the conditional simple to refer to a meaning of surprise.
Quem diria que o Brasil ganharia outra copa do mundo.
Who would have thought that Brazil would win another world cup.
Quem diria que choveria hoje, depois de tantos dias de sol.
Who would have thought that it would be raining today after so many sunny days.
Notice that the expression quem diria includes a verb in the conditional simple but is also followed by a dependent clause with a verb in the conditional simple. This happens because this dependent clause indicates a meaning of surprise or indignation.
The conditional simple can also be used to give a more polite tone to requests and statements.
Bom dia. O que gostaria de comer?
Good morning. What would you like to eat?
Eu gostaria de um café e um pão com manteiga.
I would like coffee and bread with butter.
Poderia fechar a janela, por favor?
Could you close the window, please?
You can also use the conditional simple to give a suggestion in a more polite way. In this case, start your statement with the expressions such as achar que / pensar que(to think), which are the equivalent to “in my opinion,” as in:
Acho que você deveria sair mais com os seus amigos.
I think you should go out more often with your friends.
When the object pronouns (direct or indirect) or reflexive pronouns are used with the conditional simple, they should be placed either before the verb or between the stem and the ending of the verb. So let’s place these pronouns in the two possible ways and see what changes occurred.
Before the verb
In everyday spoken and written language, Brazilians often choose to place the pronoun before the verb.
Carlos chegará ao meio-dia. Eu o buscaria no aeroporto, mas estarei trabalhando.
Carlos will arrive at noon. I would pick him up at the airport, but I will be working.
Now, let’s take a look at an example with the reflexive pronoun:
Se eu não estivesse tão ocupada este semestre, me inscreveria para uma aula de zumba.
If I were not so busy this semester, I would sign myself up for a zumba class.
Between the stem and the ending
It is also grammatically correct to place the object or reflexive pronoun between the stem and the ending of the verb. This placement of the object or reflexive pronoun is considered highly formal and rarely used in Brazilian Portuguese.
Let’s consider the examples above to show the steps that should be taken in order to do so:
Separate the stem from the ending of the verb:
buscaria = buscar + ia
Place the object or reflexive pronoun between them:
buscar + o + ia
Remove the -r from the verb:
busca + o + ia
For most pronouns, this is all you need to do:
inscrever-me-ia
But if the object pronoun is o, a, os, as(him, her, them), add an accent to the last a or e vowel (verbs that end with -ar become á, and verbs that end with -er become ê), and add an l in front of the pronoun:
buscá + la + ia ⇒ buscá-la-ia
In this post, we talked about what the conditional simple is and how to use it in Brazilian Portuguese. We saw that:
The conditional simple is formed by adding the following suffixes to the infinitive form of the verb: -ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -íeis, -iam.
The verbs fazer(to do, to make), trazer(to bring), and dizer(to say) have irregular stems.
The conditional simple can be used in diverse situations, including hypothesizing about what might happen. Let’s take a look at the summary below to remember when to use the conditional simple:
Use | Example |
|---|---|
To talk about an action or event in future in relation to another in the past | Pensei que eles viriam para a festa. I thought they would come to the party. |
In reported speech | Lúcia falou que me ligaria. Lúcia said she would call me. |
To talk about a hypothesis | Se pudesse voltar no tempo, faria tudo novamente. If I could go back in time, I would do everything again. |
To talk about uncertainties or to make hypotheses or assumptions | Acho que ela ficaria feliz nessa situação. I think she would be happy with the situation. |
To express surprise or indignation | Não acredito! Joaquim não se esqueceria do aniversário do pai! I don't believe it! Joaquim would not forget his father’s birthday! |
To give suggestions or orders more politely | Eu adoraria um espresso, por favor. I would love an espresso, please. |
Now, let’s practice your knowledge about the conditional simple with this activity.
