Verbs: Conditional Mood

01

Regular Verb Conjugation

The conditional is one of the simplest tenses to conjugate. For regular verbs, you take the full infinitive form of the verb (e.g., falar, comer, partir) and add the conditional endings. The endings are the same for all -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.

The endings are:

• eu: -ia
• você, ele, ela, a gente: -ia
• nós: -íamos
• vocês, eles, elas: -iam

Examples

Falar (to speak): eu falaria, você falaria, nós falaríamos, vocês falariam

Comer (to eat): eu comeria, você comeria, nós comeríamos, vocês comeriam

Partir (to leave): eu partiria, você partiria, nós partiríamos, vocês partiriam

• Eu falaria com ela, mas não tenho o telefone.

  I would speak with her, but I don't have the phone number.

• Nós comeríamos a sobremesa, mas estamos satisfeitos.

  We would eat the dessert, but we are full.

02

Irregular Verbs

There are only three common verbs that are irregular in the conditional: dizer (to say), fazer (to do/make), and trazer (to bring). They use a shortened stem but attach the same regular endings as above.

• dizer → stem dir- (diria, diríamos, etc.)
• fazer → stem far- (faria, faríamos, etc.)
• trazer → stem trar- (traria, traríamos, etc.)

• O que você faria no meu lugar?

  What would you do in my place?

• Eu diria a verdade se você me perguntasse.

  I would tell the truth if you asked me.

• Você me traria um copo de água?

  Would you bring me a glass of water?

03

Use 1: Hypothetical Situations

The most common use of the conditional is to express the result of a hypothetical or unreal condition. This often appears in sentences with se (if), where the condition is expressed in the imperfect subjunctive.

• Se eu pudesse, eu viajaria o mundo todo.

  If I could, I would travel the whole world.

• Nós compraríamos a casa se tivéssemos o dinheiro.

  We would buy the house if we had the money.

• Se não estivesse chovendo, eles iriam ao parque.

  If it weren't raining, they would go to the park.

04

Use 2: Polite Requests and Advice

The conditional softens requests, suggestions, and statements, making them more polite and less direct. It is very common with verbs like poder, gostar, and dever.

• Você poderia fechar a porta, por favor?

  Could you close the door, please?

• Eu gostaria de fazer uma reserva.

  I would like to make a reservation.

• Eu acho que você deveria conversar com ele.

  I think that you should talk to him.

05

Use 3: Future from a Past Perspective

The conditional is used to talk about an action that was in the future from a point of view in the past. This is often used in reported speech to relay what someone said they were going to do.

• Ela prometeu que ligaria no dia seguinte.

  She promised that she would call the next day.

• Eu sabia que o evento seria um sucesso.

  I knew that the event would be a success.

• Eles disseram que chegariam às oito horas.

  They said they would arrive at eight o'clock.

06

Use 4: Speculation or Uncertainty

The conditional can also be used to express a guess, doubt, or probability, often about something in the present or past.

• Quem seria aquela pessoa na porta?

  Who could that person at the door be?

• Ele teria uns 40 anos, eu acho.

  He was probably around 40 years old, I think.

• Onde estariam minhas chaves?

  Where could my keys be?