Breakdown of Se eu estudar todos os dias, vou ficar mais calmo no exame.
Questions & Answers about Se eu estudar todos os dias, vou ficar mais calmo no exame.
In Portuguese, when you talk about a future or hypothetical condition introduced by se (if), you normally use the subjunctive, not the present indicative.
- Se eu estudar todos os dias… = If I study every day (in the future / hypothetically)…
- Se eu estudo todos os dias… is grammatically possible, but it sounds more like talking about a habit that is already true now, not a plan or condition for the future. It would roughly mean “Given that I (already) study every day…”.
So here, because it’s a condition for the future, “estudar” is in the future subjunctive, not in the present indicative.
Here “estudar” is the future subjunctive of the verb estudar.
- Infinitive: estudar (to study)
- Present subjunctive: que eu estude
- Future subjunctive: quando / se eu estudar
For regular -ar verbs, the future subjunctive “eu” form looks the same as the infinitive, which can be confusing, but its function is different: it appears after se, quando, enquanto, logo que, etc., when referring to future events or conditions.
Examples:
- Se eu estudar, vou passar. – If I study, I’ll pass.
- Quando eu estudar mais, vou melhorar. – When I study more, I’ll improve.
Yes. Both are correct:
- Se eu estudar todos os dias, vou ficar mais calmo no exame.
- Se eu estudar todos os dias, ficarei mais calmo no exame.
Differences:
vou ficar = “ir” + infinitive (periphrastic future).
- Very common in spoken European Portuguese.
- Slightly more informal / neutral in everyday speech.
ficarei = simple future.
- More common in written language and in more formal or careful speech.
Meaning-wise, both express the future; the nuance is mostly about style and register, not about time.
In Portuguese, ficar is often used for a change of state or for “getting / becoming”:
- ficar mais calmo = to become calmer / to get calmer
If you used ser or estar:
- vou ser mais calmo no exame – sounds like a more permanent characteristic (doesn’t fit so well for a temporary exam situation).
- vou estar mais calmo no exame – focuses on the state at that time, but ficar emphasises the process of becoming calmer as a consequence of studying.
So ficar is the most natural verb for “I’ll be / I’ll feel calmer (as a result of this)”.
Adjectives in Portuguese agree in gender and number with the subject:
- Eu (masculine) → calmo
- Eu (feminine) → calma
So:
- A man/boy would say: Vou ficar mais calmo no exame.
- A woman/girl would say: Vou ficar mais calma no exame.
The sentence as given assumes a male speaker, or uses the default masculine, which is common in examples and generic contexts.
Yes, that is perfectly natural:
- Se eu estudar todos os dias, vou ficar…
- Se estudar todos os dias, vou ficar…
Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when the verb form makes the subject clear. Here, estudar (future subjunctive “eu”) plus vou ficar (1st person singular) makes it obvious that the subject is eu, so eu can be dropped.
Including eu gives a bit more emphasis or clarity in isolation, but both versions are correct.
“No” is a contraction of the preposition em (in, at, on) + the masculine singular definite article o (the):
- em + o = no
So:
- no exame = in the exam / during the exam
- Literally: in the exam (masculine, singular)
Other examples:
- no carro = in the car
- no trabalho = at work
In Portuguese, it’s very common to use the definite article instead of a possessive when the owner is already clear from context:
- no exame – in the exam (which is understood to be my exam, the one I’m going to take)
- no meu exame – in my exam (also correct, but adds extra emphasis on “my”)
Often you don’t need meu/minha when talking about things that obviously belong to you in that situation (e.g. a minha cabeça / a cabeça, o meu exame / o exame). Both are possible; “no exame” is just a bit more concise and natural here.
Yes, in this order it is standard:
- Se eu estudar todos os dias, vou ficar mais calmo no exame.
When a conditional clause with “se” comes before the main clause, you normally use a comma.
If you reverse the order, the comma is usually optional:
- Vou ficar mais calmo no exame se eu estudar todos os dias. (usually no comma)
- Vou ficar mais calmo no exame, se eu estudar todos os dias. (comma possible, can add a slight pause/emphasis)
They mean different things:
todos os dias = every day (repeated action, one time each day)
- Se eu estudar todos os dias = If I study every day.
todo o dia = all day (long) (duration within one day)
- Se eu estudar todo o dia = If I study all day (the whole day).
In your sentence, “todos os dias” is correct because it talks about a regular daily habit, not about studying the entire day.
You can, but the meaning changes:
- Se eu estudar… = If I study… (it may or may not happen; it’s conditional)
- Quando eu estudar… = When I study… (suggests that it will happen at some point; it’s more certain)
For expressing a condition (I might study, I might not), “Se eu estudar” is the natural choice. “Quando eu estudar” sounds like you’re already assuming the studying will definitely occur.
Literally, vou comes from the verb ir (to go), and ficar is “to stay/become”, but in “vou ficar” they form the periphrastic future:
- ir (present) + infinitive = near / simple future
- vou ficar = I’m going to be / I will be / I will get
So here, don’t interpret vou as physical movement; understand vou ficar simply as a future tense: I will become / I’ll get calmer.
Grammatically, it works the same in Brazil: future subjunctive in “se eu estudar”, and ir + infinitive in “vou ficar”.
The main differences would be vocabulary and frequency:
In Brazil, “todo dia” is more common than “todos os dias”, though both exist:
- Se eu estudar todo dia, vou ficar mais calmo na prova/exame.
Instead of “no exame”, Brazilians might often say “na prova” (in the test).
But for European Portuguese, your original sentence is natural and correct:
- Se eu estudar todos os dias, vou ficar mais calmo no exame.