Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Se a experiência correr bem, os resultados vão ser publicados numa revista científica. - If the experiment goes well, the results will be published in a scientific journal.

In Portuguese, correr does literally mean “to run”, but it also has a figurative use meaning “to go / to turn out (a certain way)” when talking about events, situations, or experiences.

So:

A experiência correu bem.
→ The experiment went well / turned out well.

Other common examples:

A reunião correu mal.
→ The meeting went badly.
Como é que correu o exame?
→ How did the exam go?

In this sentence, correr bem is perfectly natural and idiomatic in European Portuguese to say that the experiment goes well or turns out well.

Grammatically, why is it correr and not something like corre or corra after se?

The se clause refers to a future condition (“if the experiment goes well” in the future), so Portuguese uses the future subjunctive here.

For the verb correr:

Present indicative: ele corre
Present subjunctive: que ele corra
Preterite (simple past): ele correu
Future subjunctive: se ele correr

Notice that for regular -er verbs, the future subjunctive form of “he/it” (ele) is identical to the infinitive: correr.

That’s why you see:

Se a experiência correr bem…
→ If the experiment goes well… (referring to the future)

You cannot say:

✗ Se a experiência corre bem… – wrong for this future meaning in standard Portuguese
✗ Se a experiência corra bem… – this is a present subjunctive, used differently (e.g. in wishes: Espero que a experiência corra bem – “I hope the experiment goes well”)

In English we would just use the present (“If the experiment goes well…”). Why does Portuguese need a special tense (future subjunctive) after se?

English uses the present tense for future conditions:

If it goes well, we’ll publish the results.

Portuguese grammatically distinguishes present time from future time in many if-clauses with se:

Se a experiência corre bem… – would sound like an unusual or generic present-time statement.
Se a experiência correr bem… – a future condition: If the experiment goes well (when it happens)…

So after se (if) referring clearly to a future event, Portuguese usually uses the future subjunctive:

Se chover amanhã, fico em casa.
(colloquial, many people say this)
More formal / careful: Se chover amanhã, ficarei em casa.

But with se and a clear future condition, the “correct” textbook form is the future subjunctive in the se clause:

Se a experiência correr bem, os resultados vão ser publicados…

Could you also say Se a experiência correr bem, os resultados serão publicados…? How is that different from vão ser publicados?

Yes, both are correct:

Se a experiência correr bem, os resultados vão ser publicados…
Se a experiência correr bem, os resultados serão publicados…

Difference:

Vão ser publicados = ir (present) + infinitive
- Very common in spoken and informal written Portuguese.
- Feels a bit more “everyday”.
Serão publicados = simple future of ser
- Common in more formal writing (articles, reports, official documents).
- Slightly more compact.

Meaning-wise, they both express a future passive (“will be published”). The choice is mainly about style and register, not about meaning.

Why is it vão ser publicados and not something like vão publicar or serão publicar?

Because the sentence is in the passive voice, not the active.

Os resultados vão ser publicados…
Literally: The results are going to be published…
(We don’t say who will publish them.)

Structure:

vão – ir (to go), present tense, 3rd person plural
ser – infinitive of to be
publicados – past participle of publicar (published)

So ir + ser + past participle gives a future passive: are going to be published.

Compare with active voice:

Eles vão publicar os resultados…
→ They’re going to publish the results… (active: we know the subject, “they”)

You cannot say:

✗ serão publicar – you can’t combine a finite future form (serão) directly with another infinitive like this.

Correct possibilities are:

Os resultados serão publicados… (simple future passive)
Os resultados vão ser publicados… (periphrastic future passive)

Why does publicados end with -os? Why not publicado or publicadas?

In a passive construction with ser, the past participle behaves like an adjective and must agree with the subject in gender and number.

Subject: os resultados

os → masculine plural
resultados → masculine plural

So the participle publicado must also be masculine plural:

os resultados → publicados

Hence:

Os resultados vão ser publicados.

Other examples:

A decisão foi tomada. (a decisão – feminine singular → tomada)
As decisões foram tomadas. (as decisões – feminine plural → tomadas)
O artigo foi publicado. (o artigo – masculine singular → publicado)

What exactly is numa? Is it different from em uma or na?

Numa is a contraction:

em + uma → numa

So:

em uma revista científica
= numa revista científica
→ in a scientific journal / magazine

Similarly:

em + um → num
em + a → na
em + o → no

In European Portuguese, numa is extremely common and often preferred in speech. Em uma is more formal or careful, but both are grammatically correct.

You would not say:

✗ na revista científica here, because that would mean “in the scientific journal” (a specific one already known from context), whereas numa means “in a scientific journal” (non-specific).

Does revista mean “magazine” or “journal”? Is revista científica the standard way to say “scientific journal”?

Revista is a general term for a periodical publication and can mean:

magazine (popular / general audience)
journal (specialized / academic), depending on context

In academic or scientific contexts, revista científica is indeed the normal way to say “scientific journal”.

So:

revista de moda → fashion magazine
revista científica → scientific journal

If you need to be very clear it’s academic, you might also see:

revista académica
revista científica internacional

But in your sentence, numa revista científica is the standard and natural phrase.

Why does científica end in -a? Why not científico?

In Portuguese, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

Noun: revista

revista is feminine singular (you say a revista)

So the adjective científico must match it:

revista científica (feminine singular)
revistas científicas (feminine plural)
artigo científico (masculine singular)
artigos científicos (masculine plural)

Thus we say:

numa revista científica
not ✗ numa revista científico

Can the parts of the sentence be reversed? For example: Os resultados vão ser publicados numa revista científica, se a experiência correr bem. Is that still correct?

Yes, that is grammatically correct:

Se a experiência correr bem, os resultados vão ser publicados numa revista científica.
Os resultados vão ser publicados numa revista científica, se a experiência correr bem.

Both are fine.

Differences:

Putting the condition first (starting with Se a experiência…) is very common and slightly emphasizes the condition.
Putting the main clause first may sound a bit more like an afterthought: “The results will be published in a scientific journal, if the experiment goes well.”

Punctuation:

With the se-clause first, you need a comma before the main clause.
With the se-clause second, the comma is usually recommended in writing, especially if the clause is long, although in everyday writing some people omit it.

Would Brazilians say this sentence the same way, or are there typical Brazilian Portuguese alternatives?

Brazilians would absolutely understand this sentence as is, and it’s perfectly correct in Brazilian Portuguese:

Se a experiência correr bem, os resultados vão ser publicados numa revista científica.

However, in Brazilian Portuguese, you might also very commonly hear:

Se a experiência der certo, os resultados vão ser publicados em uma revista científica.

Typical differences:

correr bem vs dar certo
- PT-PT: correr bem is very common.
- PT-BR: dar certo (“to work out” / “to succeed”) is extremely common:
  - Se der certo, a gente publica os resultados…
numa vs em uma
- Both exist in both varieties, but:
  - PT-PT: numa is very frequent in speech.
  - PT-BR: em uma is somewhat more common in careful / written language, though numa is also widely used.
Future form
- vão ser publicados is natural in both.
- In Brazil you might also see serão publicados, especially in academic writing.

So the original sentence works for both varieties; the variants above illustrate typical preferences, not hard rules.

Is there any difference between experiência and experimento here? Which is more natural in European Portuguese?

Both words exist, but their usage differs slightly, especially between Portugal and Brazil.

In European Portuguese:

experiência is the default word for:
- a scientific experiment
- an experience (in life, work, etc.)
experimento exists but is rare and sounds more technical or influenced by Brazilian usage.

In your sentence (European Portuguese):

Se a experiência correr bem…
is exactly what you would normally say.

In Brazilian Portuguese:

In academic/scientific contexts, experimento is more common for “experiment”:
- Se o experimento der certo…
experiência is still used, but more often means “experience” in the general sense (life experience, work experience).

So for Portugal, experiência is the most natural choice in this context.