Breakdown of Se vocês se esforçarem, vão merecer todo o apoio da equipa.
de
of
ir
to go
vocês
you all
se
if
o
the
a equipa
the team
o apoio
the support
merecer
to deserve
esforçar-se
to make an effort
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Questions & Answers about Se vocês se esforçarem, vão merecer todo o apoio da equipa.
What is the function of the se before esforçarem in this sentence?
The se in "se esforçarem" is a reflexive pronoun. In Portuguese, the verb esforçar-se means "to make an effort" or "to strive." Here, se indicates that the subject (vocês) is performing the action on itself—i.e., you are putting in your own effort.
Why is esforçarem conjugated in the future subjunctive form instead of the present indicative?
Portuguese uses the future subjunctive form in conditional clauses when referring to possible future events. Since the condition "if you make an effort" is about a future possibility, esforçarem is correctly conjugated in the future subjunctive. Unlike English—which uses the present simple in such clauses—Portuguese marks future conditions with the future subjunctive.
What does the periphrastic construction vão merecer indicate in the sentence?
The construction vão merecer is a way to express future actions in Portuguese. It combines the present tense of the verb ir (vão, meaning "are going") with the infinitive merecer (meaning "to deserve"). This structure conveys that the result—deserving all the team’s support—will occur in the future, functioning similarly to the English "will deserve" or "are going to deserve."
Why is the definite article used in todo o apoio da equipa?
In Portuguese, when adjectives such as todo (meaning "all" or "every") modify a noun, the definite article is typically required. Thus, apoio (support) is preceded by the masculine article o. This construction emphasizes that the team’s support is viewed as a specific, complete set of support that the subjects will fully earn.
Can the future in the main clause be expressed in another way instead of vão merecer?
Yes, an alternative is to use the simple future tense. For example, you could say "merecerão todo o apoio da equipa" where merecerão is the simple future form of the verb merecer. Both "vão merecer" and "merecerão" correctly convey the idea that the action will take place in the future; the former is a periphrastic (going-to) future, while the latter is the synthetic future.
How does the structure of this conditional sentence compare to English conditionals?
In Portuguese, the condition is expressed using the future subjunctive in the if-clause ("Se vocês se esforçarem"), while in English similar conditions are usually expressed with the present simple (e.g., "If you work hard"). The main clause, "vão merecer todo o apoio da equipa," uses a future construction. Therefore, although both languages present a condition followed by a result, Portuguese requires a specific verb form in the if-clause to indicate a future possibility, setting it apart from the way English handles conditionals.