B2 · Conditions
Wishes and regrets
There is no verb for « I wish »: two phrases do the work, and one is Arabic.
English has a verb for this and Portuguese does not. « I wish » conjugates, takes a tense and opens a clause: « I wish he were here », « I wish I had known ». Here the job is done by two fixed expressions that do not conjugate at all.
Quem me dera! — literally who would give me — is the wish that will not come true: Quem me dera ter vinte anos! With a Conjuntivo imperfeito behind it, it becomes a whole sentence: Quem me dera que ele viesse.
Oxalá — from the Arabic, God willing — is hope: Oxalá não chova! with the presente do conjuntivo for what is possible, Oxalá chovesse! with the imperfeito for what is unlikely. The word came into Portuguese from Andalusi Arabic and kept both its shape and its job.
With a verb of wishing the Conjuntivo is needed: Gostava que ele viesse, Queria que tu ficasses. And for regret about the past: gostava de ter plus participle, or se ao menos — if only — with the mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo.
Die Form
| if only! | quem me dera! |
| I wish he would come | quem me dera que viesse |
| hopefully it will not rain | oxalá não chova |
| if only it would rain | oxalá chovesse |
| I would like you to stay | gostava que ficasses |
| if only I had known | se ao menos tivesse sabido |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
quem me dera plus infinitive or que plus Conjuntivo imperfeito: an unfulfilled wish.
Quem me dera estar de férias!I wish I were on holiday!
oxalá plus presente: hope; plus imperfeito: an unlikely wish.
Oxalá chegues a tempo!I hope you arrive in time!
gostava que and queria que take the Conjuntivo imperfeito.
Gostava que me ouvisses.I would like you to listen to me.
Regret about the past: se ao menos plus mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo.
Se ao menos tivéssemos mais tempo tido!If only we had had more time!
Woran man es erkennt
- quem me dera
- oxalá
- gostava que
- queria que
- se ao menos
Beispielsätze
Quem me dera ter o teu jeito!I wish I had your knack!
Oxalá o comboio não esteja atrasado!I hope the train is not late!
Gostava que tudo fosse mais simples.I wish everything were simpler.
Se ao menos ma tivesse dito ela própria!If only she had told me herself!
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
After gostava que comes the Conjuntivo imperfeito — viesse — and not the presente venha. Gostava is the polite form in the Imperfeito, and it pulls the Imperfeito after it. Gostava que venha is heard from learners and never from the Portuguese.
quem me dera wishes, oxalá hopes, gostava que takes the Imperfeito do conjuntivo.
Jetzt selbst
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