Se eu não tivesse coçado tanto a orelha, ela não teria ficado vermelha.

Because this sentence expresses an unreal past condition: something that did not happen, and a result that also did not happen.

Portuguese commonly uses this pattern:

• Se + imperfect subjunctive
• conditional (often compound conditional)

So:

• Se eu não tivesse coçado tanto a orelha... = If I hadn’t scratched my ear so much...

Here, tivesse is the imperfect subjunctive of ter, and it helps build the idea of a hypothetical past situation.

This is very similar in meaning to English:

• If I hadn’t scratched my ear so much, it wouldn’t have gotten red.

Because tivesse coçado is a compound past form, and it means had not scratched.

Structure:

• tivesse = imperfect subjunctive of ter
• coçado = past participle of coçar

Together:

• tivesse coçado = had scratched
• não tivesse coçado = had not scratched

If you said não coçasse, that would usually sound less clearly tied to a completed earlier past action. In this sentence, the speaker wants to refer to a specific past action with a finished result, so tivesse coçado is the natural choice.

This is the result part of the unreal past condition.

Structure:

• teria = conditional of ter
• ficado = past participle of ficar

So:

• teria ficado = would have become / would have gotten

The full pattern is:

• Se eu não tivesse coçado tanto a orelha, ela não teria ficado vermelha.

This is the standard Portuguese equivalent of:

• If I hadn’t scratched my ear so much, it wouldn’t have gotten red.

So teria ficado is used because the result is also hypothetical and in the past.

Both relate to hypothetical results, but teria ficado is more specifically past: would have become/gotten.

• não teria ficado vermelha = would not have gotten red
• não ficaria vermelha = would not get/become red

In a sentence about a completed past situation, teria ficado is usually the best choice because it matches the English would have gotten.

So in this sentence, não teria ficado vermelha sounds more precise and natural.

Coçado is the past participle of coçar, which usually means:

• to scratch
• sometimes, depending on context, to itch is expressed with related wording, but here it clearly means to scratch

So:

• coçar a orelha = to scratch the ear
• ter coçado = to have scratched

In this sentence, coçado tanto a orelha means scratched my ear so much.

In Portuguese, especially with body parts, it is very common to use the definite article instead of a possessive when possession is already obvious.

So:

• coçar a orelha often means scratch my/the ear
• The context tells us whose ear it is: the speaker’s

This is different from English, which usually prefers:

• my ear

Portuguese often sounds more natural with:

• a mão, o braço, a cabeça, a orelha

especially when the owner is clear from the verb or context.

So a orelha here is completely natural.

Ela refers back to a orelha.

Since orelha is a feminine noun, the pronoun that refers to it is ela:

• a orelha → feminine
• ela = it/she, depending on translation context

In English, we would normally say it:

• it wouldn’t have gotten red

But Portuguese often uses ele/ela for things and body parts when referring back to a noun.

So:

• a orelha ... ela is perfectly normal.

Because it agrees with orelha, which is feminine.

In Portuguese, adjectives usually match the noun in gender and number:

• o rosto vermelho
• a orelha vermelha

Here:

• orelha = feminine singular
• so the adjective must be vermelha

If the noun were masculine, it would be vermelho.

Tanto means so much or that much here.

• coçar tanto a orelha = to scratch the ear so much

It emphasizes degree: the speaker scratched the ear a lot, enough to cause the redness.

Compare:

• Se eu não tivesse coçado a orelha...
  = If I hadn’t scratched my ear...
• Se eu não tivesse coçado tanto a orelha...
  = If I hadn’t scratched my ear so much...

So tanto adds the idea of excessive amount.

Yes, that is understandable, but it is usually less natural than a orelha in this context.

Portuguese often prefers:

• coçar a orelha rather than
• coçar minha orelha

Using minha orelha is not wrong. It may sound more emphatic or explicit. But in everyday Portuguese, especially with body parts, the article is usually preferred when the owner is obvious.

So the most natural version here is:

• Se eu não tivesse coçado tanto a orelha...

It is mostly neutral standard Portuguese.

It is grammatically complete and natural. The tense combination is standard and would be fine in writing or speech.

In very casual speech, some Brazilians may use non-standard alternatives, especially in everyday conversation, but the sentence you have is a good model of correct Portuguese.

So for learning purposes, this is an excellent standard structure to know:

• Se + imperfect subjunctive
• conditional compound

The main pattern is:

• Se + imperfect subjunctive, conditional compound

Template:

• Se eu tivesse feito X, eu teria feito Y.
• If I had done X, I would have done Y.

Your sentence follows exactly that pattern:

• Se eu não tivesse coçado tanto a orelha, ela não teria ficado vermelha.

More examples:

• Se eu tivesse estudado, teria passado.
  = If I had studied, I would have passed.
• Se ela não tivesse saído, não teria perdido o ônibus.
  = If she hadn’t left, she wouldn’t have missed the bus.

This is one of the most important Portuguese patterns for talking about hypothetical past situations.

Not exactly.

• orelha = ear, especially the outer ear
• ouvido = ear in the sense of the hearing organ, and sometimes hearing

In many contexts, English just says ear, but Portuguese distinguishes them more clearly.

Here, coçar a orelha makes perfect sense because you scratch the outer ear. So orelha is the right word in this sentence.

A very literal breakdown is:

• Se = if
• eu = I
• não tivesse coçado = had not scratched
• tanto = so much
• a orelha = the ear / my ear
• ela = it
• não teria ficado = would not have become / would not have gotten
• vermelha = red

Natural English:

• If I hadn’t scratched my ear so much, it wouldn’t have gotten red.

This helps show that Portuguese does not always line up word-for-word with English, but the overall meaning matches very closely.