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Portuguese (Portugal)

When talking about the paranormal, cryptids, and UFO sightings, facts are often elusive. 

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### The Conditional of Rumor

You likely already know the conditional tense as the way to express what you "would" do. However, Portuguese frequently uses the conditional for another very important purpose: to report unverified information, rumors, or allegations. 

Known as the "conditional of rumor" (*condicional de citação*), this structure is heavily used in journalism, storytelling, and daily gossip. It distances the speaker from the truth of the statement, acting as the equivalent of the English words "allegedly," "reportedly," or "is said to."

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In these sentences, *estaria* and *seria* do not mean "would be" as a hypothetical condition. Instead, they indicate that the speaker is simply passing along a claim made by someone else (e.g., "according to them" or "the newspaper alleges").

You can use the conditional with any verb to describe alleged actions or traits:

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### Continuous and Complex Rumors

The conditional of rumor can also be applied to ongoing actions using *estar a* + infinitive, or paired with other phrases to describe an alleged series of events.

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Using the conditional this way is the perfect tool for discussing myths, legends, and unconfirmed sightings without committing to whether they are fact or fiction!

Conditional of rumor (seria, estaria)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Question	Answer
the UFO	o óvni
According to them, the UFO was allegedly in the sky.	De acordo com eles, o óvni estaria no céu.
to allege	alegar
the apparition	a aparição
supernatural	sobrenatural
The newspaper alleges that the apparition was allegedly supernatural.	O jornal alega que a aparição seria sobrenatural.
the report (narrative, account)	o relato
the spaceship	a nave
According to the report, the spaceship was allegedly huge.	De acordo com o relato, a nave seria enorme.
supposed	suposto
the werewolf	o lobisomem
The supposed werewolf allegedly lived on this mountain.	O suposto lobisomem viveria nesta montanha.
the myth	o mito
According to the myth, the alien was allegedly living in the basement.	De acordo com o mito, o extraterrestre estaria a morar na cave.
They wanted to see the supposed UFO, but it was allegedly just an airplane.	Eles queriam ver o suposto óvni, só que seria apenas um avião.
After that apparition, we started to believe in the supernatural.	Depois daquela aparição, nós passámos a acreditar no sobrenatural.
to spot	avistar
The pilot alleges that he spotted a spaceship.	O piloto alega que avistou uma nave.
According to the myth, the werewolf allegedly started to terrify the village.	De acordo com o mito, o lobisomem passaria a apavorar a aldeia.
They spotted a UFO, but they allegedly hid the report.	Eles avistaram um óvni, só que esconderiam o relato.