Breakdown of Se algo correr mal no exame, vais ficar chateado?
Questions & Answers about Se algo correr mal no exame, vais ficar chateado?
In this sentence correr is in the future subjunctive, not the infinitive, even though it looks identical to the infinitive.
- Infinitive: correr = to run / to go
- Future subjunctive (3 sg): (se algo) correr = if something goes / if something should go
In European Portuguese, for regular -ar, -er, -ir verbs, the future subjunctive form is often identical to the infinitive in writing:
- falar → se ele falar
- comer → se ele comer
- partir → se ele partir
You can tell it’s future subjunctive here because:
- It comes after se (= if)
- It’s talking about a future, hypothetical situation
So se algo correr mal = if something goes wrong (in the future), using the Portuguese future subjunctive, even though it looks like the infinitive.
European Portuguese uses the future subjunctive after certain conjunctions (including se) when referring to a future, uncertain, or hypothetical situation.
Common triggers for the future subjunctive (when they refer to the future):
- se – if
- quando – when
- logo que / assim que – as soon as
- enquanto – while (in some future contexts)
Compare:
Se algo correr mal, vais ficar chateado.
If something goes wrong, you’ll get upset.
→ future situation; Portuguese: future subjunctive correrSe algo corre mal, ele fica logo nervoso.
If something goes wrong, he immediately gets nervous.
→ general / habitual truth; Portuguese: present indicative corre
English uses the present in the if-clause for future time, but Portuguese normally uses future subjunctive for that meaning. That’s why se algo correr mal (not se algo corre mal) is used here.
Literally:
- correr = to run / to go
- mal = badly / wrong
So correr mal literally is “to go badly / to run badly”.
Idiomatic meaning:
- correr mal = to go wrong / to turn out badly / not to go well
Examples:
O exame correu mal.
The exam went badly / didn’t go well.Se a reunião correr mal, vamos ter problemas.
If the meeting goes badly, we’ll have problems.
The positive version is:
- correr bem = to go well
- A entrevista correu muito bem. – The interview went very well.
They’re easy to mix up:
mal (with l)
- Usually an adverb: badly, poorly, wrong(ly)
- Sometimes a noun: evil, harm
- Example: correr mal = to go badly / to go wrong
mau (with u)
- Adjective: bad (masculine singular)
- Fem. má, plurals maus, más
- Example: um exame mau = a bad exam
In correr mal, you must use mal (adverb), not mau, because it’s describing how things go, not defining what they are.
Both are grammatically possible, but they differ slightly in nuance:
vais ficar chateado
- Structure: ir (present) + infinitive
- This is the periphrastic future, like English “you’re going to get upset”.
- It sounds natural, conversational, often a bit more immediate / likely.
ficas chateado
- present tense = you get / you become upset (general tendency, habitual)
- Without extra context, it can sound more like a general reaction than a specific future situation.
Another option is the simple future:
- ficarás chateado? – will you get upset?
- Grammatically correct, but in everyday European Portuguese, vais ficar chateado? is much more common in speech than ficarás chateado?, which can sound more formal or written.
Portuguese is a pro‑drop language, which means subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, etc.) are often omitted when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- Vais ficar chateado?
→ subject is clearly “tu” (2nd person singular) from the -s ending in vais.
Including the pronoun is possible:
- Tu vais ficar chateado?
But in European Portuguese:
- Omitting tu is very common and usually more natural in everyday speech.
- You might include tu for emphasis or contrast:
- Tu vais ficar chateado, não eu. – You’re going to get upset, not me.
Chateado generally means:
- annoyed, irritated, bothered, sometimes upset / a bit fed up
It’s not usually as strong as “angry” (zangado) but can cover mild to moderate negative feelings.
Typical meanings in context:
- Ficar chateado – to become annoyed / upset
- Estar chateado – to be annoyed / upset
Strength:
- It can be relatively mild:
- Fiquei um bocado chateado. – I got a bit annoyed.
- Or more serious, depending on tone:
- Ela ficou mesmo chateada contigo. – She got really upset with you.
So in vais ficar chateado?, it’s like “will you be annoyed / upset?”, not necessarily “furious”.
Chateado is an adjective, so it agrees with the noun (or person) in gender and number:
- Masculine singular: chateado
- Feminine singular: chateada
- Masculine plural: chateados
- Feminine plural: chateadas
Examples:
- Vais ficar chateado? – said to a man/boy
- Vais ficar chateada? – said to a woman/girl
- Vão ficar chateados? – to a group with at least one male
- Vão ficar chateadas? – to an all‑female group
Both ficar and estar can be used with chateado, but they express different things:
ficar chateado
- change of state: “to become / to get annoyed”
- Focus on the moment you start feeling that way
- Example here: vais ficar chateado? = will you get upset?
estar chateado
- current state: “to be annoyed”
- Focus on already being in that state
- Example: Estás chateado comigo? – Are you mad at me?
So in vais ficar chateado?, we’re talking about whether you will become upset as a result of something going wrong in the exam, not whether you already are upset.
No is a contraction:
- em + o = no
- em = in / on / at
- o = the (masculine singular)
So:
- no exame = “in the exam” / “on the exam”
English might say:
- if something goes wrong in the exam
- if something goes wrong on the exam
Portuguese uses em for this idea, so no exame is the natural form.
Other related forms:
- na prova – in the exam/test (feminine: em + a)
- nos exames – in the exams (em + os)
- nas provas – in the exams/tests (em + as)
In Portuguese, yes–no questions often have the same word order as statements. You mark them as questions by:
- Intonation (speaking) – your voice rises at the end.
- Question mark ? (writing).
Compare:
Statement:
- Se algo correr mal no exame, vais ficar chateado.
- If something goes wrong in the exam, you’ll get upset.
Question (speech only changes intonation):
- Se algo correr mal no exame, vais ficar chateado?
- If something goes wrong in the exam, will you get upset?
You can sometimes move words around in more complex questions, but for simple yes–no questions, normal statement order + ? + rising intonation is standard and natural.
Yes, you can say both:
- Se algo correr mal no exame, vais ficar chateado?
- Se alguma coisa correr mal no exame, vais ficar chateado?
Both mean “If something goes wrong in the exam, will you get upset?”
Nuance:
- algo
- Slightly more neutral / compact
- Common in both speech and writing
- alguma coisa
- Very common in everyday speech
- Can sound a bit more informal / conversational
In most contexts, they’re interchangeable in meaning.
Yes, that comma is normal and correct because:
- We have a subordinate clause first:
- Se algo correr mal no exame, … (If something goes wrong in the exam, …)
- Followed by the main clause:
- … vais ficar chateado? (… will you get upset?)
In European Portuguese writing, when a conditional clause with “se” comes first, it is normally separated by a comma from the main clause.
If you reversed the order, you would usually omit the comma:
- Vais ficar chateado se algo correr mal no exame?
(no comma needed here)