What is the conditional simple and how to use it in Brazilian Portuguese?

The conditional simple in Brazilian Portuguese is a tense that is used much like the construction “would” + verb 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.

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 pronouns 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 infinitive form of the verb, and add the conditional ending directly to that form.

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 subject pronouns: -ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -íeis, -iam.

For example:

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!

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.

  object pronounconditional simple

  Carlos chegará ao meio-dia. Eu o buscaria no aeroporto, mas estarei trabalhando.

  Translation: 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:

  reflexive pronounconditional simple

  Se eu não estivesse tão ocupada este semestre, me inscreveria para uma aula de zumba.

  Translation: 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:

  1. Separate the stem from the ending of the verb:

     buscaria = buscar + ia

  2. Place the object or reflexive pronoun between them:

     buscar + o + ia

  3. Remove the -r from the verb:

     busca + o + ia

  4. For most pronouns, this is all you need to do:

     inscrever-me-ia

     But if the object pronoun is o, a, os, as (meaning 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 (meaning to do, to make), trazer (meaning to bring), and dizer (meaning 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. Translation: I thought they would come to the party.
  In reported speech	Lúcia falou que me ligaria. Translation: Lúcia said she would call me.
  To talk about a hypothesis	Se pudesse voltar no tempo, faria tudo novamente. Translation: 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. Translation: I think she would be happy with the situation.
  To express surprise or indignation	Não acredito! Joaquim não se esqueceria do aniversário do pai! Translation: 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. Translation: I would love an espresso, please.

Now, let’s practice your knowledge about the conditional simple with this activity.