Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Se o molho ficar azedo, minha avó tira as sementes do tomate e começa de novo. - If the sauce turns sour, my grandmother removes the tomato seeds and starts again.

Word

Se o molho ficar azedo, minha avó tira as sementes do tomate e começa de novo.

Meaning

If the sauce turns sour, my grandmother removes the tomato seeds and starts again.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil)

Lesson

Lesson 42

Breakdown of Se o molho ficar azedo, minha avó tira as sementes do tomate e começa de novo.

Questions & Answers about Se o molho ficar azedo, minha avó tira as sementes do tomate e começa de novo.

Why is it ficar after se? Is that the infinitive?

Here, ficar is most naturally understood as the future subjunctive.

In Portuguese, after se meaning if, when you are talking about a possible future situation, Portuguese often uses the future subjunctive:

Se eu for... = If I go...
Se ele tiver... = If he has...
Se o molho ficar azedo... = If the sauce turns sour...

With many -ar verbs, the future subjunctive form looks exactly like the infinitive, so ficar can look confusing. But in this sentence, it is functioning as future subjunctive, not as a plain infinitive.

Why does Portuguese use ficar azedo instead of something like ser azedo or estar azedo?

Ficar often means to become or to end up in a certain state.

So:

ficar azedo = to become sour
estar azedo = to be sour
ser azedo = to be sour by nature / inherently sour

In this sentence, the idea is that the sauce was not sour before, but it turns sour. That is why ficar is the natural choice.

Why is it azedo and not ?