Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Quando estás com pressa, podes esquecer a chave em casa. - When you are in a hurry, you can forget the key at home.

Here quando means “when” or “whenever” in a temporal/habitual sense. It introduces the circumstance under which the main clause applies. It’s not the conditional “if” (that would be se), but a time-clause indicating “every time you’re in a hurry…”.

Why is the subordinate clause “quando estás com pressa” in the present indicative and not in the future subjunctive?

In Portuguese, if a quando-clause refers to a general or habitual situation, you use the present indicative. You reserve the future subjunctive (e.g. quando estiveres com pressa) for specific actions that will definitely happen in the future, not for repeated situations.

Why is the expression estar com pressa used instead of ter pressa?

Both estar com pressa and ter pressa mean “to be in a hurry.” In European Portuguese, estar com pressa is more colloquial and widely used in everyday speech, while ter pressa is correct but slightly more formal or less common in Portugal.

Why is there no tu before estás or podes?

Portuguese is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (like tu) are normally omitted because the verb endings already identify the subject. You can include tu for emphasis or contrast, but it isn’t necessary.

Why is podes used instead of pode or another form?

Podes is the second-person singular present tense of poder used with the informal tu. The form pode is third-person singular or the formal “you” (você) in European Portuguese.

Why is esquecer in the infinitive after podes?

After a conjugated modal verb (like poder, querer, dever) the following verb stays in the infinitive. So you say podes esquecer, not podes esqueceres or any other tense.

Should esquecer here have a reflexive pronoun (like esquecer-se de)?

Both constructions exist:

Transitive: esquecer a chave
Reflexive: esquecer-se da chave
In European Portuguese, dropping the reflexive (using the transitive form) is very common and perfectly natural.

What does em casa mean? Could you say a casa instead?

Em casa means “at (your) home.” It’s a fixed expression with em. Saying just a casa without a preposition normally means “the house” (as an object or location), not “at home.”

Why is there a comma after quando estás com pressa?

When a subordinate clause comes at the beginning of a sentence, Portuguese often uses a comma to separate it from the main clause. It clarifies the structure but isn’t strictly mandatory in very short sentences.

Are there other ways in Portuguese to express “you might forget” the key when in a hurry?

Yes. Some alternatives:
• Acabas por esquecer a chave em casa. (you end up forgetting…)
• Arriscas-te a esquecer a chave em casa. (you risk forgetting…)
• Poderás esquecer a chave em casa. (formal future: “you may/might forget…”)