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Se a tosse piorar, posso remarcar a reunião online para outra hora?

Se a tosse piorar, posso remarcar a reunião online para outra hora?
If the cough gets worse, can I reschedule the online meeting for another time?
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Questions & Answers about Se a tosse piorar, posso remarcar a reunião online para outra hora?

Why is it Se a tosse piorar and not Se a tosse piora?

Because in Brazilian Portuguese, after se (if) you typically use the future subjunctive to talk about a possible future condition.

  • Se a tosse piorar = If the cough gets worse (at some point in the future)
    Using present indicative (se ... piora) can happen in some contexts, but it usually sounds less natural here and may suggest a more general/habitual idea. In this sentence, you’re clearly talking about a future possibility, so piorar is the expected form.
What tense/mood is piorar here?

It’s the future subjunctive (futuro do subjuntivo) of the verb piorar (to get worse).
Conjugation (common forms):

  • se eu piorar
  • se você/ele/ela piorar
  • se nós piorarmos
  • se vocês/eles/elas piorarem
How do you form the future subjunctive for verbs like piorar?

For most verbs, you take the third person plural of the preterite, drop -ram, and add the endings.
For piorar:

  • Pretérito (they): eles pioraram
  • Remove -ram → piora-
  • Future subjunctive: piorar, piorarmos, piorarem, etc.
    So se a tosse piorar is built directly from pioraram.
Why does it say posso remarcar and not poderia remarcar?

Posso (present) asks about permission/possibility in a direct, practical way: Can I reschedule…?
Poderia (conditional) is more polite/soft: Could I reschedule…?
Both work; the difference is tone:

  • Se a tosse piorar, posso remarcar... ? = straightforward
  • Se a tosse piorar, poderia remarcar... ? = more polite / more tentative
Is the comma after piorar required?

It’s strongly recommended because the sentence begins with a conditional clause (Se...). In Portuguese, it’s standard to separate that introductory clause with a comma:

  • Se a tosse piorar, posso remarcar...
    If you reverse the order, the comma is often omitted:
  • Posso remarcar a reunião online para outra hora se a tosse piorar?
What’s the difference between remarcar, reagendar, and adiar?

They overlap, but the usual nuance is:

  • remarcar = reschedule (change the time/date; can be earlier or later)
  • reagendar = also reschedule (often sounds a bit more formal/office-like)
  • adiar = postpone (specifically move to a later time)
    So remarcar a reunião is a very common, natural choice here.
Why is it a reunião online and not a reunião on-line or a reunião pela internet?

All can be correct, but usage differs:

  • reunião online is the most common modern spelling in Brazil.
  • on-line appears sometimes, but is less common today.
  • reunião pela internet or reunião pela Internet is a fully Portuguese option and may sound a bit more formal or explanatory.
    So reunião online is very natural and widely understood.
Does online describe the meeting itself, or the act of rescheduling it?

It describes the meeting: a reunião online = the online meeting.
If you wanted to emphasize rescheduling by using the internet, you’d phrase it differently, like posso remarcar online (less common in this exact context) or posso remarcar pelo site/pelo aplicativo.

What does para outra hora mean exactly? Is it the same as para mais tarde?

Para outra hora means for another time (some other time, not necessarily later today). It’s fairly general.
Para mais tarde means for later and usually implies later the same day or later in the near term.
So para outra hora is broader and fits rescheduling well.

Could I say para outro horário instead of para outra hora?

Yes, and it can even sound more “scheduling-like.”

  • para outra hora = for another time
  • para outro horário = for another time slot / another schedule time
    Both are natural. Horário is especially common in office/calendar contexts.
Why is it a tosse (feminine)? What if I want to say my cough?

Tosse is a feminine noun in Portuguese: a tosse.
To say my cough, you’d use:

  • Se a minha tosse piorar, ...
    Often in Brazilian Portuguese you can also drop the possessive when context is obvious:
  • Se a tosse piorar, ... can naturally imply my cough in context.
Is piorar the same as ficar pior?

They’re very close.

  • piorar = to worsen / to get worse (one verb; very common)
  • ficar pior = to become worse (also common; slightly more descriptive)
    Both work here:
  • Se a tosse piorar...
  • Se a tosse ficar pior...
    Piorar is a bit more compact and idiomatic.
Where does the pronoun go if I want to say can you reschedule it?

In Brazilian Portuguese, pronoun placement is flexible, but everyday speech often uses before the verb in many cases:

  • Se a tosse piorar, você pode remarcar a reunião? (often preferred; avoids pronouns)
    If you replace a reunião with a pronoun (it), a common BR option is:
  • Se a tosse piorar, você pode remarcar ela para outra hora? (very common in speech)
    More formal/written (and more in line with traditional grammar) would be:
  • ... pode remarcá-la para outra hora?
    But in Brazil, remarcar ela is extremely common conversationally.