Hypothetical situations in Brazilian Portuguese

Level B1

Hypothetical situations in Brazilian Portuguese

In Brazilian Portuguese, an imagined condition often uses the imperfect subjunctive, while its result uses a conditional form such as “estudaria.” English also uses “would,” but Portuguese shows the relationship through verb endings. You’ll also see how to ask about alternatives using informal você or the more respectful o senhor.

The conditional for “would”

Pair an imagined condition with its result

Se condição imaginada, consequência com o verbo no condicional.

Use verb forms to talk about imagined situations

In “Se eu estivesse livre amanhã, estudaria japonês,” the condition uses estivesse, the imperfect subjunctive of estar, and the result uses estudaria, a conditional form. The condition describes an imagined situation; it does not mean that the person was free in the past.

English normally uses a past form in the condition and “would” in the result: “If I were free tomorrow, I would study Japanese.” Brazilian Portuguese uses the imperfect subjunctive in this imagined condition and the conditional in the result. In “Como o seu dia mudaria se o senhor não precisasse trabalhar?”, mudaria expresses the result and precisasse marks the imagined condition.

Ask what would happen under another condition

O que/Como você/o senhor faria/mudaria se condição imaginada?

Choose between você and o senhor

Você is common in everyday Brazilian Portuguese and takes third-person verb forms, as in “O que você faria se tivesse mais tempo?” Its use varies by region and relationship. O senhor is respectful address to a man and also takes third-person forms, as in “Como o seu dia mudaria se o senhor não precisasse trabalhar?” For a woman, use a senhora. English “you” does not change with this choice, so use the relationship and situation to decide which form fits.

“Se eu estivesse livre amanhã, estudaria japonês” illustrates a careful formulation suitable for writing or a formal exchange. It does not address another person, so it does not show the você/o senhor distinction. Conditional forms such as estudaria and faria also occur in everyday conversation; the verb form alone does not make a sentence formal.

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