B1 · The future
Conditional (condicional)
« Would » does four jobs in English; this form takes two of them.
At a glance
- Remember
- Two of your four « woulds » — and never the habit.
- When
If and would — Here the condition decides the form, not the position on the clock.
- Form
- (eu) falariaI would speak
- Signal words
- -ia
- -ias
- -íamos
- -iam
- gostaria
- Trap
- Wrong:Todos os verões iríamos ao mar.Right:Todos os verões íamos ao mar.
Your turn
5 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Portuguese. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) tense marker person ending
| I would speak | (eu) falaria |
| you would speak | (tu) falarias |
| he would speak, you would speak | (ele, ela, você) falaria |
| we would speak | (nós) falaríamos |
| you would speak, plural and formal | (vós) falaríeis |
| they would speak, you all would speak | (eles, elas, vocês) falariam |
| I would do | (eu) faria |
| you would do | (tu) farias |
| he would do, you would do | (ele, ela, você) faria |
| we would do | (nós) faríamos |
| you would do, plural and formal | (vós) faríeis |
| they would do, you all would do | (eles, elas, vocês) fariam |
| I would eat, you would eat | comeria, comerias |
| I would say, do, bring | diria, faria, traria |
| I would like | gostaria de |
| could you | poderia |
| it would be better | seria melhor |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The ending attaches to the whole infinitive.
Eu faria o mesmo.I would do the same.
In the main clause of an unreal condition.
Se tivesse tempo, iria contigo.If I had the time, I would go with you.
As a polite request.
Poderia ajudar-me?Could you help me?
In everyday speech the imperfeito often stands instead.
Queria um café, por favor.I would like a coffee, please.
Example sentences
Gostaria de reservar uma mesa.I would like to book a table.
Seria melhor esperar.It would be better to wait.
Eles não fariam isso.They would not do that.
Poderia repetir, se faz favor?Could you say that again, please?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
For a repeated action in the past English also says « would » — « every summer we would go to the sea ». That one is not this form. It is the imperfeito: íamos ao mar todos os verões. Putting iríamos there turns a memory into a hypothesis, and the listener waits for the condition that never comes.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The endings -ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -íeis, -iam also attach to the whole infinitive: falaria, comeria, partiria. The same three verbs shorten as in the future: diria, faria, traria.
Your « would » covers four different things: the unreal consequence (« I would go »), politeness (« would you help me »), the future seen from the past (« he said he would come ») and the old habit (« every summer we would go to the coast »). This form takes the first two, and the third.
The fourth it does not take, and that is the one that goes wrong. A repeated habit in the past is the imperfeito: íamos todos os verões, never iríamos.
For a request the polite form is gostaria de... or poderia.... In everyday speech people often use the imperfeito instead — queria rather than quereria — and that is the usual thing, not a sloppy one.
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 80 · The passive with seBack to the learning path
The verbs on this page, in every form: fazer · poder · ser · ter · ir · querer · repetir · esperar