Breakdown of Caso os lençóis não sequem a tempo, usamos uma manta extra na cama.
Questions & Answers about Caso os lençóis não sequem a tempo, usamos uma manta extra na cama.
Caso here means “if / in case” and it introduces a hypothetical situation that may or may not happen.
- Caso os lençóis não sequem a tempo…
→ If / In case the sheets don’t dry in time…
In everyday European Portuguese, caso and se often overlap:
- Caso os lençóis não sequem a tempo…
- Se os lençóis não secarem a tempo…
Both can be translated as “If the sheets don’t dry in time…”, but:
- caso more strongly suggests a possible but uncertain scenario, and it always takes the present subjunctive (here: sequem).
- se is the default word for if, and with a future condition it usually takes the future subjunctive (here: secarem).
So the pattern is:
- caso + present subjunctive → future/hypothetical condition
- se + future subjunctive → future condition
Both are perfectly natural in European Portuguese.
Because caso (like English in case that / if it happens that) triggers the subjunctive mood, not the indicative.
- secar (to dry)
- eles secam = they dry (present indicative)
- eles sequem = (that) they dry (present subjunctive)
Since the clause is hypothetical and depends on a condition, Portuguese uses the subjunctive:
Indicative (fact):
Os lençóis secam depressa.
The sheets dry quickly. (statement of fact)Subjunctive (condition/possibility):
Caso os lençóis não sequem a tempo…
If the sheets don’t dry in time… (may or may not happen)
With caso, using secam would sound wrong to a native speaker; sequem is required.
It’s a regular spelling change to keep the same /k/ sound.
- The verb is secar.
- Before a, o, u, the letter c is pronounced like /k/:
- secar, secam, secou.
- Before e or i, a written c would normally be /s/, not /k.
So Portuguese inserts a u and uses qu to keep the /k/ sound:
Present indicative (3rd person plural): secam
Present subjunctive (3rd person plural): sequem
Same pattern in other verbs:
- ficar → ficam / fiquem
- trocar → trocam / troquem
A tempo here means “in time / soon enough / before the deadline or moment you need it.”
- não sequem a tempo
→ don’t dry in time
You do sometimes hear em tempo, but:
a tempo is the common, idiomatic way to say “in time (for something)”:
- Cheguei a tempo. – I arrived in time.
- Ele não conseguiu terminar a tempo. – He didn’t manage to finish in time.
em tempo is rarer and tends to sound more formal or old-fashioned, or used in some fixed expressions.
So in modern everyday Portuguese, a tempo is what you’d use here.
Portuguese very often uses the present indicative to talk about the future, especially in if-clauses and their results, when the future meaning is clear from context:
- Caso os lençóis não sequem a tempo, usamos uma manta extra na cama.
Literally: If the sheets don’t dry in time, we use an extra blanket on the bed.
Natural English: …we’ll use an extra blanket on the bed.
This is completely normal and sounds very natural.
You could use a future form:
- …usaremos uma manta extra…
But in everyday European Portuguese:
- usamos sounds natural, neutral, and common;
- usaremos is more formal or emphatic, and usually only used when you really want to highlight the future.
So, present form with future meaning in conditionals is standard.
By itself, the Portuguese can be read either way:
Habitual / general rule
“Whenever the sheets don’t dry in time, we use an extra blanket.”
(This is what we usually do in that situation.)Specific future situation
“If the sheets (this time) don’t dry in time, we’ll use an extra blanket.”
Context decides which is intended. The grammar allows both readings; English often disambiguates by choosing either present (we use) for a habit or we’ll use for a specific future case.
Portuguese uses definite articles (o / a / os / as) more often than English.
- os lençóis = the sheets
In this sentence, we’re talking about specific, known sheets (probably the ones currently in the wash or that we need for the bed). In Portuguese that almost always takes a definite article:
- Os lençóis não secam. – The sheets don’t dry.
- Gosto dos lençóis novos. – I like the new sheets.
Leaving out the article (lençóis não secam) would normally sound ungrammatical or require a very special context (like a headline).
Also note:
- singular: o lençol = the sheet
- plural: os lençóis = the sheets
lençol
- Gender: masculine → o lençol (the sheet)
- Plural: os lençóis (the sheets)
manta
- Gender: feminine → a manta / uma manta (the/a blanket / throw)
- Plural: as mantas (the blankets)
In the sentence:
- os lençóis → masculine plural
- uma manta extra → feminine singular
In Portuguese, adjectives normally come after the noun:
- uma manta extra – literally “a blanket extra” → an extra blanket
- um livro interessante – an interesting book
- uma casa grande – a big house
The word extra here works like an adjective meaning “additional”, and it is usually placed after the noun.
Unlike many adjectives, extra is invariable: it doesn’t change for gender or number.
- uma manta extra – an extra blanket
- duas mantas extra – two extra blankets
- um cobertor extra – an extra blanket (different word)
- três cobertores extra – three extra blankets
Uma extra manta is incorrect in standard Portuguese.
Na cama means “on the bed / in the bed”, depending on context. Literally it is:
- na = em + a (contraction)
- em = in, on, at
- a = the (feminine singular)
So:
- na cama = em + a cama → on/in the bed
Contractions like this are compulsory in standard Portuguese:
- no = em + o (in/on the, masculine sing.)
- na = em + a
- nos = em + os
- nas = em + as
You virtually never say em a cama; you must contract to na cama.
Yes, you can, and it’s very natural.
- Caso os lençóis não sequem a tempo, usamos…
→ present subjunctive after caso - Se os lençóis não secarem a tempo, usamos…
→ future subjunctive (secarem) after se
Both are correct and common in European Portuguese. Nuances:
caso + present subjunctive
Slightly more formal / structured, clearly hypothetical.se + future subjunctive
Neutral, everyday way to talk about a future condition.
So your alternative sentence is fine, with secarem (future subjunctive), not secam.
These versions are not standard and sound wrong to native speakers:
❌ Se os lençóis não sequem a tempo…
After se with a future condition, Portuguese expects the future subjunctive:
✅ Se os lençóis não secarem a tempo…❌ Caso os lençóis não secarem a tempo…
After caso, Portuguese expects the present subjunctive:
✅ Caso os lençóis não sequem a tempo…
So, keep the patterns:
- caso + present subjunctive → Caso não sequem…
- se + future subjunctive → Se não secarem…
The sentence is fine in both varieties, but you might hear other common words in Brazil:
- lençol / lençóis – same in both; very common word.
- manta – understood in Brazil, but for a normal bed blanket Brazilians might more often say:
- cobertor – blanket
- edredom – duvet
So in Brazil, a frequent version could be:
- Se os lençóis não secarem a tempo, usamos um cobertor extra na cama.
In Portugal, manta is very common for a bed blanket or throw, so the original sentence sounds very natural in European Portuguese.