Breakdown of Se ganhares o concurso, receberás uma medalha de prata.
de
of
uma
a
se
if
receber
to receive
a prata
the silver
ganhar
to win
o concurso
the contest
a medalha
the medal
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Questions & Answers about Se ganhares o concurso, receberás uma medalha de prata.
Why is ganhares in the subjunctive mood and not just ganhar or ganhas?
ganhares is the 2nd person singular present subjunctive of ganhar. In Portuguese, the present subjunctive is typically used in the protasis (the if clause) to express a condition, even if it’s likely to happen. This corresponds to if you win in English. Using ganhas would be the indicative mood, which is less common after se in European Portuguese, and ganhar is the infinitive, which cannot agree with tu.
What tense is receberás, and why is there an accent on the á?
receberás is the simple future indicative, 2nd person singular. The accent on the á marks the stressed vowel and distinguishes this future form from the subjunctive form receberas, which is unaccented. It corresponds to you will receive in English.
Why do we omit the subject pronoun tu here?
Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the verb endings (-es in ganhares, -ás in receberás) clearly indicate the subject (tu). Therefore the pronoun can be omitted unless needed for emphasis or clarity.
Why is there a comma after the if clause? Could it be left out?
When the if clause (protasis) comes before the main clause (apodosis), a comma is conventionally placed to separate them. If you reverse the order—Receberás uma medalha de prata se ganhares o concurso—you can omit the comma.
Why is there a definite article o before concurso? Could we drop it?
European Portuguese often uses definite articles before nouns in contexts where English might omit them. o concurso simply means the contest. Dropping the article (se ganhares concurso) would sound unnatural in Portuguese.
In medalha de prata, what does de indicate? Could we say medalha prateada instead?
The preposition de denotes material or composition, so medalha de prata means a medal made of silver. medalha prateada suggests a silver-plated or silver-colored medal, not necessarily pure silver.
Could we use the periphrastic future (ir + infinitive) instead of the simple future here?
Yes. In spoken European Portuguese (and Brazilian Portuguese), it’s common to use ir + infinitive. You could say: Se ganhares o concurso, vais receber uma medalha de prata.
What does concurso mean exactly? Are there other words for “contest”?
concurso generally means contest or competition. In European Portuguese it can also refer to a public exam/tender (e.g., a civil service competition). Alternatives for a general sports or talent contest include competição or torneio, depending on context.