Breakdown of Tu acordaste muito pálido como se tivesses tido um pesadelo.
tu
you
muito
much / very
ter
to have
um
a / an / some (all forms)
acordar
to wake up
como se
as if
pálido
pale
o pesadelo
the nightmare
Questions & Answers about Tu acordaste muito pálido como se tivesses tido um pesadelo.
Why is 'tivesses tido' used after 'como se' instead of a regular past tense?
The phrase como se (as if) introduces an unreal or hypothetical comparison, which always requires the subjunctive mood in Portuguese. Because the hypothetical nightmare happened before the past action of waking up (acordaste), we must use the Past Perfect Subjunctive (Mais-Que-Perfeito do Conjuntivo). This tense shows that the unreal event was already completed before the main past action.
Is it normal to use the verb 'ter' twice in a row in 'tivesses tido'?
Yes, it is completely normal and works exactly like 'had had' in English. The first part (tivesses) is the auxiliary or helping verb conjugated in the Imperfect Subjunctive to match Tu. The second part (tido) is the past participle of the main action verb, which simply happens to be ter (to have) in this sentence.
Does 'pálido' change if you are speaking to a woman?
Could I use 'estavas' instead of 'acordaste' here?
You could, but it changes the meaning slightly. Acordaste is the Pretérito Perfeito (Past Simple) of acordar, meaning specifically 'you woke up' as a single event. Using estavas (Pretérito Imperfeito of estar) would mean 'you were,' describing an ongoing state in the past rather than the exact moment of waking.
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