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Portuguese (Portugal)

### The Second Conditional

To talk about unlikely, imaginary, or hypothetical situations—like an alternate outcome to a football match—we use the "second conditional".

This structure requires two parts: the hypothetical condition and the imaginary result. The formula is:

**Se** (If) + **Imperfect Subjunctive** (the condition) ➔ **Conditional** (the result)

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### Swapping the Order

The sentence does not have to start with **se**. You can put the result first, followed by the condition. When you switch the order, you drop the comma, but the imperfect subjunctive still stays locked to the word **se**.

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### Putting It into Practice

Let's look at a few more examples of this structure in action. Notice how the verb endings align for different subjects.

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### A Spoken Shortcut: The Imperfect Indicative

In everyday, informal spoken Portuguese, people often replace the Conditional tense in the result clause with the Imperfect Indicative. 

For example, instead of saying *o jogo seria diferente* (the game would be different), a native speaker might say *o jogo era diferente*. Both mean the exact same thing in a conditional sentence, but you will primarily see the Conditional used in writing and formal speech.

### Hypothetical vs. Probable

Remember that the combination of **se** + Imperfect Subjunctive is only for *unlikely* or *imaginary* conditions (e.g., *If he were to kick well...*). 

If a situation is an open possibility that could genuinely happen in the future (e.g., *If he kicks well...*), Portuguese uses the "first conditional": **se** + **Future Subjunctive** ➔ **Present Indicative** (the real result).

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Second conditional (se... + 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 referee	o árbitro
the foul	a falta
If the referee saw the foul, the game would be different.	Se o árbitro visse a falta, o jogo seria diferente.
the penalty	o penálti
The referee would call the first penalty if he were there.	O árbitro marcaria o primeiro penálti se estivesse lá.
to kick	chutar
to score	marcar
the goal (sports)	o golo
If the player kicked well, he would score a fantastic goal.	Se o jogador chutasse bem, marcaria um golo fantástico.
If you kicked like that, it would be a foul.	Se tu chutasses assim, seria falta.
They would win if the captain scored that penalty.	Eles ganhariam se o capitão marcasse aquele penálti.
the defeat	a derrota
If they lost, the defeat would be horrible.	Se eles perdessem, a derrota seria horrível.
the victory	a vitória
the championship	o campeonato
If we achieved the victory, the championship would be ours.	Se nós conseguíssemos a vitória, o campeonato seria nosso.
the stadium	o estádio
The stadium would be full if they needed the victory.	O estádio estaria cheio se eles precisassem da vitória.
to send off	expulsar
If the judge sent off the player, the stadium would fall silent.	Se o juiz expulsasse o jogador, o estádio ficaria em silêncio.
The defeat would be certain if he sent you off.	A derrota seria certa se ele te expulsasse.
If you scored the first goal, you would be the hero.	Se marcasses o primeiro golo, serias o herói.
If he kicks well, our team wins the championship.	Se ele chutar bem, a nossa equipa ganha o campeonato.