B1 · Conditions
First conditional: se tiver
« If I have time » takes a form here that English cannot even name.
At a glance
- Remember
- After se stands the future of the subjunctive.
- When
If and would — Here the condition decides the form, not the position on the clock.
- Form
- se (eu) tiver tempoif I have time
- Signal words
- se tiver
- se puder
- se for
- se quiser
- Trap
- Wrong:Se tenho tempo, vou ao cinema hoje.Right:Se tiver tempo, vou ao cinema hoje.
Your turn
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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 (irregular) tense marker person ending
| if I have time | se (eu) tiver tempo |
| if you have time | se (tu) tiveres tempo |
| if he / she has time, if you have time | se (ele / ela / você) tiver tempo |
| if we have time | se (nós) tivermos tempo |
| if you have time, plural and formal | se (vós) tiverdes tempo |
| if they have time, if you have time (plural) | se (eles / elas / vocês) tiverem tempo |
| if I have time, I will go | se tiver tempo, vou |
| if you can, help me | se puderes, ajuda-me |
| if it rains, we will stay | se chover, ficamos |
| if you like, we will go | se quiseres, vamos |
| if it is possible | se for possível |
| if you know, tell me | se souberes, diz-me |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
After se stands the future subjunctive.
Se tiver tempo, passo por lá.If I have time, I will drop by.
The main clause takes the present, ir plus infinitive or the Futuro.
Se chover, vamos ficar em casa.If it rains, we will stay at home.
The main clause can be a command.
Se puderes, liga-me hoje.If you can, call me today.
A present after se means a habit or something already true.
Se chove, fico sempre em casa.If it rains, I always stay at home.
Example sentences
Se souberes alguma coisa, diz-me.If you hear anything, tell me.
Se o comboio chegar a horas, apanho o das nove.If the train is on time, I will catch the nine o'clock.
Se precisares de ajuda, estou aqui.If you need help, I am here.
Se for barato, compro dois.If it is cheap, I will buy two.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The present after se is the commonest mistake in this area, and it is a treacherous one because the sentence is well built and says something else. Se tenho tempo, vou means « whenever I have time, I go » — a habit. A single occasion was meant.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Se tiver tempo, vou ao cinema — « if I have time, I will go to the cinema ». The se clause takes the future subjunctive; the main clause takes the present, ir plus the infinitive, or the Futuro.
For something that may still happen this form is the rule, and English gives no signal for it. Your first conditional puts a present after « if » and a future after it — « if it rains, I will stay in » — and the present there is so automatic that nobody thinks of it as a choice. Here it is a choice, and the other option is not the future but a mood.
The present after se means something else: a habit, or something that is already true now. Se chove, fico em casa is « if it rains, I stay in » in the sense of « whenever it rains »; se estás cansado, vai dormir is « if you are tired (now), go to bed ». English marks that difference with « whenever » or with nothing at all; Portuguese marks it on the verb.
The main clause can also be a command: se tiveres tempo, liga-me. And the same rule holds after quando, assim que and enquanto when the future is meant.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: ficar · chover · estar · ter · dizer · chegar · passar · ir