Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O treinador diz que ninguém teria melhorado sem esforço, paciência e alguém paciente ao lado. - The trainer says that no one would have improved without effort, patience, and someone patient by their side.

O treinador diz que ninguém teria melhorado sem esforço, paciência e alguém paciente ao lado.

The trainer says that no one would have improved without effort, patience, and someone patient by their side.

Breakdown of O treinador diz que ninguém teria melhorado sem esforço, paciência e alguém paciente ao lado.

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Questions & Answers about O treinador diz que ninguém teria melhorado sem esforço, paciência e alguém paciente ao lado.

Why is it teria melhorado and not melhoraria?

Teria melhorado is the conditional perfect (also called “composed conditional”):

teria melhorado ≈ “would have improved”
melhoraria ≈ “would improve / would be improving”

In this sentence, the coach is talking about a hypothetical improvement that didn’t happen (or is seen as depending on past conditions).
So:

ninguém teria melhorado = “no one would have improved (under those conditions)”

If you used melhoraria, it would sound more like a general or future-like possibility (“no one would improve”), not a completed improvement based on conditions already mentioned or implied.

Why is there no subjunctive after que in diz que ninguém teria melhorado? Why not tivesse melhorado?

The verb after que depends on what comes before, not just on the word que itself.

diz que… (“he says that…”) introduces reported speech / an assertion.
After verbs of saying in the indicative (like diz, disse, afirma), Portuguese normally uses the indicative or conditional, not the subjunctive.

So:

O treinador diz que ninguém teria melhorado…
“The coach says that nobody would have improved…”

You would use tivesse melhorado (pluperfect subjunctive) in a different structure, e.g.:

Se ninguém tivesse feito esforço, ninguém teria melhorado.
“If nobody had made an effort, nobody would have improved.”

Does ninguém take a singular or a plural verb? Could you say ninguém teriam melhorado?

Ninguém (nobody, no one) is grammatically singular in Portuguese.

So you must say:

ninguém teria melhorado ✅
ninguém teriam melhorado ❌

Some learners get confused because ninguém semantically refers to “no people” (a kind of “zero plural”), but grammatically it behaves like ele/ela (he/she). The verb always agrees in the 3rd person singular.

What’s the difference between ninguém and nenhum? Could I use nenhum here?

Both are negative words but used differently:

ninguém = “nobody, no one” → refers to people, and usually functions as a pronoun (it stands alone as subject or object).
- Ninguém teria melhorado. = “No one would have improved.”
nenhum/nenhuma = “no / not any” → modifies a noun (adjective or determiner).
- Nenhum atleta teria melhorado. = “No athlete would have improved.”

You cannot replace ninguém with bare nenhum in this sentence:

Ninguém teria melhorado ✅
Nenhum teria melhorado ❌ (needs a noun: nenhum atleta, nenhuma pessoa, etc.)

Why is it O treinador with the article o? Could I just say Treinador diz que…?

In European Portuguese, using the definite article before a profession or role is very common, especially when referring to a specific, known person:

O treinador diz que… = “The coach says that…” (a specific coach everybody knows in this context)

If you just said Treinador diz que…, it would sound very strange in normal speech and writing. You usually need either:

A determiner: O treinador, Este treinador, Um treinador, etc.
Or a name: João diz que…

So in standard usage here, O treinador is the natural form.

Why are there no articles with esforço and paciência (no o or a) after sem?

After sem (“without”), Portuguese often uses bare nouns when speaking generally or abstractly:

sem esforço = “without effort (in general)”
sem paciência = “without patience (as a quality)”

If you add articles, you usually make the meaning more specific:

sem o esforço = “without the effort” (a particular effort already mentioned)
sem a paciência = “without the patience” (some specific patience we’ve been talking about)

In this sentence, the idea is general qualities needed for improvement, so no articles is the most natural choice: sem esforço, paciência…

Why is paciente used twice in different forms: paciência and paciente? Are they related?

Yes, they’re related but they are different parts of speech:

paciência = noun → “patience” (the quality)
paciente = adjective → “patient” (describing a person)

In the sentence:

sem esforço, paciência → without effort and (the quality of) patience
alguém paciente ao lado → someone who is patient by your side

So you need paciência when naming the virtue itself, and paciente when describing a person as patient.

What exactly does ao lado mean here, and why not just say com alguém paciente?

Ao lado literally means “at (your) side / beside (you)”. In context:

alguém paciente ao lado = “a patient person by your side / next to you / accompanying you”

You could say:

com alguém paciente = “with someone patient”

but ao lado emphasizes physical or emotional closeness and ongoing presence, not just the fact that the person exists somewhere. It sounds like:

“someone right there with you, supporting you” rather than just “someone in your life”.

Could I move sem esforço, paciência e alguém paciente ao lado to the beginning of the clause?

Yes. Word order in Portuguese is quite flexible for adverbial phrases. You can say:

Ninguém teria melhorado sem esforço, paciência e alguém paciente ao lado. (original)
Sem esforço, paciência e alguém paciente ao lado, ninguém teria melhorado.

Both are correct. Putting the sem… phrase first gives it a bit more emphasis: it foregrounds the conditions that were necessary for improvement.

Why is it diz and not disse? What’s the difference in meaning?

diz = present indicative (“says”)
disse = simple past (“said”)

In Portuguese (as in English), the choice shows whether:

You’re describing something the coach typically / currently says or something seen as still valid:
- O treinador diz que… = “The coach says that…” (e.g. this is his regular message)
You’re narrating a past event, a single occasion:
- O treinador disse que… = “The coach said that…” (on that particular day)

So diz here suggests a general statement or habitual opinion of the coach.

Is there any difference in how this sentence would be used or understood in Portugal vs Brazil?

Grammatically and lexically, the sentence is fine in both European and Brazilian Portuguese. Two small notes:

treinador:
- PT (Portugal): very common for all kinds of coaches.
- BR (Brazil): also used, but in sports (especially football), técnico is extremely common too.
pronunciation will differ (European vs Brazilian accents), but the sentence structure and meaning are the same.

So you can safely use the sentence in both varieties; it’s fully natural in Portugal, and perfectly understandable in Brazil.

How do you pronounce the trickier parts like ninguém, melhorado, esforço in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (IPA):

ninguém → [nĩˈɡẽj̃]
- nasal -em /ẽj̃/ (kind of like “eng” with a y-glide)
teria → [tɨˈɾi.ɐ]
- ɨ is a very reduced, central vowel, like a weak “uh”
melhorado → [mɨʎuˈɾadu]
- lh = [ʎ], similar to Italian gli or “lli” in “million”
esforço → [ɨʃˈfoɾsu]
- s at the start → [ʃ] “sh” sound in European Portuguese
paciência → [pɐ.siˈẽ.sjɐ]
- nasal ên → [ẽ]
alguém → [aɫˈɡẽj̃]
- dark l [ɫ]; nasal -ém as in ninguém

Exact sounds depend on region and speaking speed, but these are good targets for standard European Portuguese.