Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Se eu fosse mais jovem, ainda faria noitadas. - If I were younger, I would still have late nights.

Se eu fosse mais jovem, ainda faria noitadas.

If I were younger, I would still have late nights.

Breakdown of Se eu fosse mais jovem, ainda faria noitadas.

Questions & Answers about Se eu fosse mais jovem, ainda faria noitadas.

How does ainda work in this sentence, and how would the meaning change with já não?

Here, ainda means "still", showing that the habit of staying out late would continue in this hypothetical situation. If we swapped it for já não (no longer), the sentence would become Se eu fosse mais jovem, já não faria noitadas (If I were younger, I would no longer have late nights).

Why do we use fosse instead of the regular past tense era?

The word se (if) sets up a hypothetical or unreal situation because the speaker is not actually younger. In Portuguese, these imaginary "if" scenarios require the Imperfect Subjunctive tense, which is fosse for the verb ser (to be).

What tense is faria and why is it used in the second half of the sentence?

The verb faria is the Conditional tense of fazer (to do or to make), translating to "would make" or "would do". It is the standard tense used alongside the Imperfect Subjunctive to show the imagined result: If condition X were true, then result Y would happen.

What is the literal meaning of fazer noitadas?

The noun noitada comes from noite (night) and refers to a very late night out or an all-nighter. The expression fazer noitadas literally means "to make late nights", but is used just like the English phrases "to have late nights" or "to go clubbing".