Salve, everyone! On our Dica today, we’ll learn how to use sentences using conditional in Portuguese.
The use of conditional implies condition. Doing something unless some other event prevents us or not doing something in result of some consequence. The structure of the conditional sentences in Portuguese is as follows:
It’s also possible to invert the structure using the futuro do pretérito (future conditional) before the imperfect of the subjunctive, and the meaning will continue being the same. Let’s take a look at this using the example from the image above:
Se fizesse sol, eu iria à praia.
If it was sunny, I would go to the beach.
Eu iria à praia, se fizesse sol.
I would go to the beach, if it was sunny.
Because we use the past in this kind of phrase, but the action itself didn’t happen in reality, we can say it’s an unreal past.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
Se eu tivesse tempo, visitaria meus amigos no fim de semana.
If I had time, I would visit my friends this weekend.
Se você pudesse estudar português, estudaria online?
If you could study portuguese, would you study online?
O que você faria se ganhasse na loteria?
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Se você trouxesse as bebidas, faríamos uma caipirinha.
If you brought the drinks, we would prepare a caipirinha.
Eu nunca contaria seu segredo para ninguém, se você confiasse em mim.
I would never tell your secret to anyone, if you trusted me.
Nós não iríamos para a praia nem se estivesse sol.
We wouldn’t go to the beach even if it were sunny.
O que ele faria se nunca envelhecesse?
What would he do if he never grew old?
Most of the time, we use the word “se” (if) to connect the sentences and give the idea of the condition we are looking to imply. In other cases, we can use conditional subordinate conjunctions and phrases: aliás (moreover), a não ser que (unless), salvo se (unless), contanto que (provided that), sem que (without which), desde que (provided that), a menos que (unless), quando (when). If you want to take a look at the subjunctive conjunctions, just click here.
In this case, we might not need to actually use the verbs in the futuro do pretérito (future conditional) and the imperfect of the subjunctive. This is not as common as using “se” (if) though.
Eu não iria para a Europa, salvo se não fosse tão frio.
I wouldn’t go to Europe, unless it wasn’t so cold.
Eu não faria isso, a não ser que você tenha autoridade.
I wouldn’t do that, unless you have the authority.
Vocês conseguiriam melhores lugares, contato que chegassem cedo.
You would get better seats, provided that you arrive early.
We just learned the structure and use of conditional sentences in Portuguese. Let’s practice a bit?
See the situations and complete the sentences using the conditional in Portuguese.
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Bye, bye!
A big hug from Rio & Learn!
Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
Future Condition in Portuguese
Imperfect Subjunctive in Portuguese
Present Subjunctive in Portuguese
Conjunctions of the Subjunctive in Portuguese
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