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Nós achávamos que a meteorologia falharia outra vez.

Nós achávamos que a meteorologia falharia outra vez.
We thought that the weather forecast would fail again.
From Lesson 376:Reported speech with conditionals·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Nós achávamos que a meteorologia falharia outra vez.

Why is the conditional tense falharia used here instead of the future tense?
This sentence uses reported speech. The original direct thought was likely in the future tense: 'A meteorologia falhará' (The forecast will fail). Because the reporting verb achávamos is in the past, the future indicative falhará must backshift to the conditional falharia (would fail) to keep the timeline logical.
Why is the reporting verb achávamos in the imperfect rather than the preterite?
The imperfect achávamos is used because holding an opinion or belief is generally an ongoing state of mind in the past. Using the preterite achámos would imply a sudden realization or a single, completed moment of thinking, which sounds less natural in this context.
Does a meteorologia just mean the scientific study of weather?
It translates literally to meteorology, but in everyday European Portuguese, people frequently use a meteorologia as shorthand for the weather forecast. You could also use a previsão do tempo, but a meteorologia is very natural and common.
Can I use de novo or novamente instead of outra vez at the end of the sentence?
Absolutely. Outra vez (literally another time), de novo, and novamente all mean again and are completely interchangeable in this context. Outra vez is especially common in everyday European Portuguese conversation.

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