Word
Se houver engarrafamento na frente, vamos pegar outra estrada.
Meaning
If there is a traffic jam up ahead, we are going to take another road.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Breakdown of Se houver engarrafamento na frente, vamos pegar outra estrada.
ir
to go (future auxiliary)
nós
we
se
if
outra
another
Questions & Answers about Se houver engarrafamento na frente, vamos pegar outra estrada.
Why is it houver and not há, tem, or tiver?
Houver is the form of the verb haver used after se in this kind of conditional sentence.
In Portuguese, haver can mean to exist / there to be, especially in more formal or standard language. So:
- Se houver engarrafamento... = If there is a traffic jam...
Why not the others?
- há = present tense of haver; it does not fit after se here
- tem = very common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese for there is/are, but it is less formal in this structure
- tiver = from ter, and many Brazilians do say Se tiver engarrafamento... in everyday speech
So Se houver engarrafamento... sounds correct and natural, and a bit more formal or polished than Se tiver engarrafamento...
What tense or mood is houver?