Word
Se esta toalha estiver molhada, eu vou pegar a outra.
Meaning
If this towel is wet, I will get the other one.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Breakdown of Se esta toalha estiver molhada, eu vou pegar a outra.
eu
I
estar
to be
esta
this
ir
to go (future auxiliary)
Questions & Answers about Se esta toalha estiver molhada, eu vou pegar a outra.
Why is estiver used instead of está?
Because this sentence talks about a possible future situation: if this towel is wet.
After se meaning if, Portuguese often uses the future subjunctive when the condition refers to the future and is still uncertain. So:
- Se esta toalha está molhada... sounds wrong for this meaning.
- Se esta toalha estiver molhada... is the normal form.
A good shortcut is:
- if + future possibility → often se + future subjunctive
So estiver is used because the speaker does not know yet whether the towel will be wet.
What tense/mood is estiver?
Estiver is the future subjunctive of estar.
In this sentence, it means something like if it turns out to be or if it is/will be in a future situation.
Here are some forms of the future subjunctive of estar:
With se, it is very common:
- Se eu estiver cansado...
- Se ela estiver em casa...
- Se esta toalha estiver molhada...
Why is estar used with molhada instead of ser?