Hi everyone, how are you doing? Today we are going to talk about Portuguese Conditional Tense, which is a first step to learn how to properly write in the imperfect subjunctive, which gives us an abroad use for conditionals themselves.
The Structure of the Portuguese Conditional Tense
We use the Portuguese Conditional Tense in two situations:
a) an action that depends on another to happen.
Eu iria à festa se tivesse sido convidada.
I would go to the party if I had been invited.
b) kindness when making any request, suggestion or offer.
Poderia fechar a porta por favor?
Could you close the door, please?
To structure the Portuguese Conditional Tense, you just need to add the following ending to each verb in the infinitive: -ia, -ia, -ia, íamos, -iam, iam. Take a look at the example using various regular verbs:

Examples with Regular Verbs
Eu pagaria a conta, mas não tenho dinheiro.
I would pay the check, but I don’t have money.
Ele abriria a porta, mas está sem a chave.
He would open the door, but he’s without the key.
Ela veria o filme, mas não tem tempo agora.
She would see the film, but she doesn’t have time right now.
Elas viriam à festa, mas não sabem chegar aqui.
They would come to the party, but they don’t know how to get here.
Nós chegaríamos mais cedo, só que o ônibus quebrou.
We would arrive earlier, but the bus broke down.
Conditional Tense in Portuguese with Irregular Verbs
In the future conditional, there are a few exceptions. The verbs fazer, dizer and trazer are irregulars. In this case, we can’t use the infinitive as our base for the tense, we need to follow the tenses below:
Examples with Irregular Verbs
Nós faríamos o exercício, mas não entendemos a matéria.
We would do the exercise, but we don’t understand the subject.
Eles disseram que não fariam nada de errado, mas não confio neles.
They said they wouldn’t do anything wrong, but I don’t trust them.
Eu diria tudo que sei, mas eles não acreditariam.
I would say everything I know, but they wouldn’t believe it.
Em um tribunal ela diria a verdade, mas aqui não.
In court, she would say the truth, but not here.
Jorge traria mais tequila, mas o limite é de doze litros.
Jorge would bring more tequila, but there’s a 12 liter limit.
Ela traria seu cachorro, mas não são permitidos animais na praia.
She would bring her dog, but they’re not allowed on the beach.
Now it’s your turn!
1) Complete the sentences using the future conditional in Portuguese.
- Eu lhe _________ (explicar) o que aconteceu, mas agora estou ocupado.
- Ele ________ (dar) gorjeta ao garçom, mas está sem dinheiro aqui.
- Nós __________ (ficar) na cidade, mas precisamos partir.
- Elas nos _________ (contar) o problema, mas não confiam em nós.
- Elas __________ (trazer) o livro, mas não o compraram.
- Nós _________ (fazer) o exercício, mas está muito difícil.
- Eu ________ (ver) o show, mas estou sem tempo.
- Nós __________ (vir) ao Rio mais vezes, mas trabalhamos muito.
- Elas _________ (poupar) dinheiro para viajar mais, mas não conseguem.
- Ele __________ (poder) estudar na Rio & Learn, mas está em dúvida entre aulas online ou presenciais.
That was the Portuguese Conditional Tense!
Any problems with it? If you have any questions, you can leave a comment, and we will answer your doubts! We are always ready to respond any questions about Portuguese for foreigners.
We’ll see each other on the next A Dica do Dia then!
Big hug to you from Rio & Learn!
Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
Immediate Future
Simple Future Tense in Portuguese
Irregular Future Verbs in Portuguese
Conditional Sentences in Portuguese
Answers
1) Complete the sentences using the future conditional in Portuguese.
1 – explicaria
2 – daria
3 – ficaríamos
4 – contariam
5 – trariam
6 – faríamos
7 – veria
8 – viríamos
9 – poupariam
10 – poderia
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