Hello, there!

Today we are going to start learning how to express condition in Portuguese. First, take a look at these sentences:

If I study hard, I will pass the test.
If he calls, can you take a message?
If she comes late, tell her to go to my office.

As you can see these conditional sentences have two parts, the if-clause (the one that shows the condition) and the main clause (what will happen if something else happens).

In the if-clauses, in Portuguese, we use a tense called Futuro do Subjuntivo (Future Subjunctive), so you can’t use the present form, like it is in English.

Here are the three basic conjugations of the Futuro do Subjuntivo:

Regular Verbs

1st Conjugation – verbs ending in -ar

Se eu trabalhar [If I work]
Se você* trabalhar [If you work]
Se ele/ela trabalhar [If he/she works]
Se nós trabalharmos [If we work]
Se vocês* trabalharem [If you work – plural]
Se eles/elas trabalharem [If they work]

2nd conjugation – verbs ending in -er

Se eu beber [If I drink]
Se você* beber [If you drink]
Se ele/ela beber [If he/she drinks]
Se nós bebermos [If we drink]
Se vocês* beberem [If you drink – plural]
Se eles/elas beberem [If they drink]

3rd conjugation – verbs ending in -ir

Se eu partir [If I leave]
Se você* partir [If you leave]
Se ele/ela partir [If he/she leaves]
Se nós partirmos [If we leave]
Se vocês* partirem [If you leave – plural]
Se eles/elas partirem [If they leave]

*I’m not using pronouns tu and vós here.

Most verbs are conjugated like this, but as you may have imagined we have some common irregular verbs too. Check out their conjugations. Follow the example above (se eu…, se você…, etc.):

Caber (to fit) – couber, couber, couber, coubermos, couberem, couberem
Dar (to give) – der, der, der, dermos, derem, derem
Estar (to be) – estiver, estiver, estiver, estivermos, estiverem, estiverem
Fazer (to do) – fizer, fizer, fizer, fizermos, fizerem, fizerem
Poder (can, to be able to) – puder, puder, puder, pudermos, puderem, puderem
Pôr (to put) – puser, puser, puser, pusermos, puserem, puserem
Querer (to want) – quiser, quiser, quiser, quisermos, quiserem, quiserem
Saber (to know) – souber, souber, souber, soubermos, souberem, souberem
Ser (to be) and Ir (to go) – for, for, for, formos, forem, forem
Ter (to have) – tiver, tiver, tiver, tivermos, tiverem, tiverem
Trazer (to bring) – trouxer, trouxer, trouxer, trouxermos, trouxerem, trouxerem
Ver (to see) – vir, vir, vir, virmos, virem, virem
Vir (to come) – vier, vier, vier, viermos, vierem, vierem

The Futuro do Subjuntivo is also with time expressions like:

• à medida que (as)
• assim que (as soon as)
• como (as, according to)
• conforme (according to)
• depois que (after)
• enquanto (while, meanwhile)
• logo que (as soon as)
• quando (when)
• sempre que (whenever)

Some examples:

À medida que (as):
À medida que forem terminando a prova, podem ir embora.

Assim que (as soon as):
Assim que ele tiver dinheiro, ele lhe pagará.

Como (as):
Faça como ele disser.

Conforme (according to):
Faça conforme forem as regras da empresa.

Depois que (after):
Depois que você estiver pronto, podemos sair.

Enquanto (while):
Enquanto o clima não melhorar, não poderemos continuar a obra.

Logo que (as soon as):
Me liga logo que estiver pronto.

Quando (when):
Quando estiveres só, vais sentir minha falta.

Sempre que (whenever):
Sempre que você vier a Austin, venha me visitar

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