Conditional 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.

Let’s dive right into it.  

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: 

	Gostar | Conditional Condicional
Eu	gostaria
Tu	gostarias
Ele, ela	gostaria
Nós	gostaríamos
Vocês Eles, elas	gostariam

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

	Fazer	Dizer	Trazer
Eu	faria	diria	traria
Tu	farias	dirias	trarias
Ele, ela	faria	diria	traria
Nós	faríamos	diríamos	traríamos
Vocês Eles, elas	fariam	diriam	trariam

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. 

* Learn more about the imperfect tense: Portuguese Perfect vs. Imperfect Tense: Know When to Use Which.

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. Eu não estava consciente que a viagem demoraria tanto tempo. I was not aware that the trip would take so long.

* In the Brazilian Portuguese standard, the conditional tense is actually referred to as the future of the past (futuro do pretérito).

Compare the sentences above with their more colloquial versions using the imperfect tense: 

Eu sabia que ía chegar atrasado à reunião. Eu não estava consciente que a viagem demorava tanto tempo.

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.

* Learn more about Portuguese subjunctive:
• Present Subjunctive in Portuguese: Conjugation and Usage
• Portuguese Past Subjunctive: Conjugation and Usage
• Portuguese Future Subjunctive: Conjugation and Usage

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.

There are variations to the above. For instance, we can use the present indicative in the if-clause instead of the future subjunctive:

present ind. (if clause) > present ind. (main clause) Se não regamos as plantas, elas morrem.

We can also use the future tense* in the main clause instead of the present.

future ind. (main clause) > future sub. (if clause)   O gelo vai derreter se o aqueceres.

* Learn more about Portuguese Future Tenses.

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 Ferrari. If I was rich, I would buy a Ferrari.

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.

Again, in spoken language, we tend to more often use the imperfect indicative instead of the conditional:

imperfect sub. (if-clause) > imperfect ind.  (main clause) Se fosse rico comprava um Ferrari.

Third conditional – lost cause

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) Se não tivessem bebido tanto agora não estariam ressacados agora. If you hadn’t drunk so much, you wouldn’t have had a hangover now.

As in the second conditional, we often use the imperfect indicative in the main clause instead of the conditional:

imperfect sub. [ter] + past participle (if-clause) > imperfect ind. (main clause) Se não tivessem bebido tanto agora não estavam ressacados.