Portuguese Conditional: Futuro do Pretérito & Irregular Stems
Known in grammar manuals as the Futuro do Pretérito, the conditional mood in Portuguese serves two primary functions: expressing hypothetical outcomes in se-clauses ("Se eu pudesse, iria...") and softening requests with polite elegance ("Gostaria de um café"). It is one of the easiest tenses in the language, with only three truly irregular verbs across the entire vocabulary.
⚡ The Universal Regular Formula
Unlike the present tense, all three conjugations (-ar, -er, -ir) take the identical set of endings attached directly to the intact infinitive!
• falar → falaria
• comer → comeria
• partir → partiria
1. The Only 3 Irregular Verbs: Fazer, Dizer, Trazer
While all other verbs keep their full infinitive stem, exactly three verbs contract their root:
| Pronoun | Fazer (far-) | Dizer (dir-) | Trazer (trar-) |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | faria | diria | traria |
| tu | farias | dirias | trarias |
| ele/ela/você | faria | diria | traria |
| nós | faríamos* | diríamos* | traríamos* |
| eles/elas/vocês | fariam | diriam | trariam |
*Notice the mandatory acute accent on the tonic syllable in the nós form (faríamos, diríamos, cantaríamos).
2. Conversational Pragmatics: Imperfeito Replacement
In everyday spoken Portuguese (particularly in Brazil and informal European Portuguese), speakers frequently replace the conditional with the Pretérito Imperfeito:
"Se eu tivesse dinheiro, compraria uma casa."
"Se eu tivesse dinheiro, comprava uma casa." (Natural and ubiquitous in spoken speech).
🎯 Diagnostic Quiz: Portuguese Conditional
What is the correct 1st person singular conditional (futuro do pretérito) of "fazer"?