Breakdown of Teríamos prevenido a tragédia se tivéssemos olhado para a sinalização.
ter
to have
para
to / for
olhar
to look
se
if
a tragédia
the tragedy
prevenir
to prevent
a sinalização
the signage
Questions & Answers about Teríamos prevenido a tragédia se tivéssemos olhado para a sinalização.
How does this sentence demonstrate the third conditional structure?
This sentence talks about an impossible past condition and its impossible past result. The se (if) clause uses the past perfect subjunctive tivéssemos olhado to show the condition that didn't happen. The main clause uses the compound conditional teríamos prevenido to show what the result would have been. Both use the auxiliary verb ter plus the past participle.
Could I use a different tense for the result clause in spoken Portuguese?
Yes! In everyday spoken European Portuguese, it is extremely common to replace the compound conditional with the past perfect indicative. You will often hear native speakers say Tínhamos prevenido a tragédia se... instead of Teríamos prevenido.... Both mean the same thing, but the version in this sentence is grammatically standard and slightly more formal.
Why is the preposition para used after olhado?
When you look at a specific target or in a specific direction, the verb olhar requires the preposition para. While English uses "look at", Portuguese uses olhar para, which combines with the feminine definite article a to become para a sinalização (at the signage).
Can we reverse the order of the clauses?
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