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Portuguese (Portugal)

### Guessing About the Present: The Future Simple

Usually, the Future Simple tells us what *will* happen. However, in European Portuguese, it is frequently used to express probability, make assumptions, or guess about the **present moment**.

Imagine you are throwing a surprise party, but the guest of honor (*o homenageado*) is running late. Instead of saying "I think he is at work," you can use the Future Simple to express "He is probably at work" or ask "Could he be at work?":

{{item:1035614}}

{{item:1035617}}

{{item:1035629}}

Notice how translating these sentences back to English often requires words like "probably," "could," or "must be" to capture this guessing nature.

### Guessing About the Past: The Conditional

To make a guess or assumption about the **past**, shift from the Future Simple to the Conditional tense. This is the equivalent of asking "Could he have been...?" or stating "He was probably...":

{{item:1035618}}

{{item:1035627}}

### Formulating Theories

When someone is delayed, you naturally come up with theories. You can mix and match the Future and Conditional tenses depending on whether you are guessing about an ongoing problem or a past event.

If you think his tire popped earlier (past), use the Conditional:

{{item:1035620}}

If you think he is currently fixing it (present), use the Future Simple:

{{item:1035621}}

Likewise, you can wonder if the delay is a simple mistake right now (Future), or conclude that the location itself was probably a mistake they made earlier (Conditional):

{{item:1035626}}

{{item:1035625}}

Probability (Future and Conditional)

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 guest of honor	o homenageado
Where could the guest of honor be now?	Onde estará o homenageado agora?
Since he is late, the guest of honor is probably arriving at the room.	Já que está atrasado, o homenageado estará a chegar à sala.
the setback	o contratempo
Could he have a setback at work?	Ele terá um contratempo no trabalho?
Upon arriving at the room, was the guest of honor probably nervous?	Ao chegar à sala, o homenageado estaria nervoso?
the puncture	o furo
Seeing that he is late, could the car have had a puncture?	Visto que está atrasado, o carro teria um furo?
He is probably fixing the puncture.	Ele estará a arranjar o furo.
the location	a localização
Could the new location be a problem for him?	Será a nova localização um problema para ele?
the mistake (misunderstanding, deception)	o engano
Given that he doesn't know the area well, the location was probably the mistake.	Dado que não conhece bem a zona, a localização seria o engano.
Could this just be a mistake?	Isto será apenas um engano?
Was he probably out of battery on his mobile phone?	Ele estaria sem bateria no telemóvel?
He probably isn't late, he probably has another excuse.	Ele não estará atrasado, terá outra desculpa.
The traffic is probably unbearable in the center.	O trânsito estará insuportável no centro.
anxious	ansioso
Was the girlfriend probably anxious about the delay?	A namorada estaria ansiosa com o atraso?
Is he probably in the parking lot?	Ele estará no estacionamento?
to suppose	supor
The guest of honor must be anxious and must assume that it is a party.	O homenageado estará ansioso e suporá que é uma festa.
possibly	possivelmente
He possibly has a setback; I suppose that.	Ele terá possivelmente um contratempo; eu suponho isso.
the punctuality	a pontualidade
to make a mistake	enganar-se
Punctuality is important, so possibly he couldn't have made a mistake.	A pontualidade é importante, então possivelmente ele não se enganaria.
He must not be making a mistake; punctuality must be essential.	Ele não se enganará; a pontualidade será essencial.