Conditional Tense in Hypot

This tense is surprisingly friendly to learners. It is one of the most regular tenses in Portuguese. You do not have to chop off the ends of verbs. You keep the whole verb and just add a tail. It works for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs the same way. This is a rare gift from the grammar gods! It expresses actions that might happen under certain conditions. For example, "I would go, but I am tired." It also acts as a bridge between the past and the future. If you said yesterday that you "would arrive" today, that is the conditional. It is like a time-traveling verb form. It looks forward from a point in the past.

1. 1Forming this tense is like building with Lego blocks. You take the entire infinitive and add the endings.
2. 2Start with the full verb: falar, comer, or abrir.
3. 3Add the specific conditional endings to the end.
4. 4The endings are: -ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -íeis, -iam.
5. 5Let's look at falar (to speak):
6. 6Eu falaria (I would speak)
7. 7Tu falarias (You would speak)
8. 8Ele/Ela/Você falaria (He/She/You would speak)
9. 9Nós falaríamos (We would speak)
10. 10Vós falaríeis (You all would speak - mostly used in books!)
11. 11Eles/Elas/Vocês falariam (They/You all would speak)
12. 12Wait, there are only three irregular verbs! Yes, only three. They are dizer (to say), fazer (to do/make), and trazer (to bring). They change their stems slightly before you add the endings:
13. 13dir- (e.g., eu diria)
14. 14far- (e.g., eu faria)
15. 15trar- (e.g., eu traria)

You will use this tense in several real-world scenarios. First, use it for polite requests. Instead of saying "I want a water," say Eu gostaria de uma água. It sounds much nicer to the waiter. Second, use it for hypothetical situations. These often start with "If." For example: Se eu ganhasse na loteria, eu viajaria pelo mundo. Notice the "would travel" part? That is our star. Third, use it for advice. Eu no seu lugar, falaria com ela. It is like giving a gentle nudge. Fourth, use it for uncertainty in the past. "It would be about 10 PM when they left." It adds a sense of "probably" to your stories. Finally, use it for future actions seen from the past. "He said he would call me."

Do not use the conditional for things that are certain. If you are definitely going to the party, use the future tense. Eu irei or Eu vou. Also, do not use it right after the word se (if). This is a common trap! You cannot say Se eu teria. You must use the imperfect subjunctive there: Se eu tivesse. The conditional only appears in the result part of the sentence. Think of it like a grammar traffic light. The "if" part is the yellow light (subjunctive). The "would" part is the green light (conditional). Also, avoid it in very informal Brazilian speech. Brazilians often use the imperfect indicative (eu falava) instead of the conditional (eu falaria). However, at a B2 level, you should master the proper form first.

One big mistake is forgetting the accent on the nós form. It is falaríamos, not falariamos. That little mark changes the whole rhythm. Another mistake is trying to conjugate the irregulars like regular verbs. Eu fazeraria is not a word, though it sounds funny! Remember the shortened stems: far-, dir-, and trar-. Many people also mix up the conditional with the future tense. Eu falarei (I will speak) is a promise. Eu falaria (I would speak) is a possibility. Don't promise what you only might do! Finally, watch out for the "if" clause. Never put the conditional immediately after se. It feels like wearing your shoes on the wrong feet to a native speaker.

How does this differ from the Imperfect? The Imperfect (eu falava) describes habits in the past. The Conditional (eu falaria) describes what would happen now or later. In casual Brazilian Portuguese, they often swap. You might hear Eu queria um café instead of Eu gostaria. Both are polite, but gostaria is more precise. Compared to the Future (eu falarei), the conditional is less certain. The future is a plan; the conditional is a dream. If you say Eu casarei com você, you are proposing. If you say Eu casaria com você, you are just being romantic or hypothetical. Choose wisely, or you might end up with a wedding you didn't plan!