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Portuguese (Portugal)

### Expressing Strong Past Regrets

When we want to express deep regret about something that already happened, we use the equivalent of the English "I wish..." or "If only...". In Portuguese, the two most common expressions for this are **quem me dera que** and **oxalá**.

Because you are talking about an alternative, hypothetical past, these expressions trigger the **Mais-que-perfeito do Conjuntivo** (Pluperfect Subjunctive).

As a reminder, this compound tense is formed by using the imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary verb **ter** followed by the past participle of the main verb:
- *tivesse, tivesses, tivesse, tivéssemos, tivessem* + past participle (e.g., *sido*, *perdoado*, *provocado*)

### Quem me dera que

The expression **quem me dera** literally translates to something like "who would give it to me," but it is used to mean "I wish" or "If only." When followed by a full clause with a subject and verb, you must connect them with **que**.

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### Oxalá

**Oxalá** is an exclamation of Arabic origin (meaning "God willing") that translates to "I hope" or "If only." When paired with a past-tense subjunctive, it expresses a strong wish that the past had been different. Unlike *quem me dera*, *oxalá* does not require the word *que*.

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### Negative Regrets

To wish that something *had not* happened (e.g., "I wish I hadn't..."), simply place **não** immediately before the auxiliary verb *tivesse*.

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Strong past regrets (quem me dera que)

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 sorrow	a mágoa
I wish she had forgiven me without sorrow.	Quem me dera que ela me tivesse perdoado sem mágoa.
the separation	a separação
the breakup	o término
I wish the separation hadn't caused the breakup of the friendship.	Oxalá a separação não tivesse provocado o término da amizade.
selfish	egoísta
to value	valorizar
I wish I hadn't been so selfish and had valued you.	Oxalá eu não tivesse sido tão egoísta e te tivesse valorizado.
understanding	compreensivo
the arrogance	a arrogância
I wish my boss had been understanding instead of showing arrogance.	Quem me dera que o meu chefe tivesse sido compreensivo em vez de mostrar arrogância.
the misunderstanding	o mal-entendido
the coldness	a frieza
I wish that misunderstanding hadn't created so much coldness between us.	Oxalá aquele mal-entendido não tivesse criado tanta frieza entre nós.
He acts as if he weren't selfish and hadn't caused this sorrow.	Ele age como se não fosse egoísta e não tivesse provocado esta mágoa.
the forgiveness	o perdão
Before you ask for forgiveness, you must abandon arrogance.	Antes de pedires perdão, deves abandonar a arrogância.
The house where we lived became empty and full of coldness after the separation.	A casa onde morávamos ficou vazia e cheia de frieza depois da separação.
The breakup was a terrible mistake that started with a small misunderstanding.	O término foi um erro horrível que começou com um pequeno mal-entendido.
The teacher was understanding and knew how to value the student.	O professor foi compreensivo e soube valorizar a aluna.
If only she had accepted the forgiveness.	Oxalá ela tivesse aceitado o perdão.
Now THAT would be nice!	Isso é que era bom!
If only he worked more!	Se ele trabalhasse mais!

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