Breakdown of Se o cientista não lhe tivesse dado consciência, a inteligência artificial seria cada vez menos perigosa.
ser
to be
não
not / no
ter
to have
menos
less
perigoso
dangerous
o
him/it (m)
lhe
to him / to her / to you (formal)
dar
to give
a vez
the time (occasion)
o cientista
the scientist
se
if
cada
each
a inteligência artificial
the artificial intelligence
a consciência
the consciousness
Questions & Answers about Se o cientista não lhe tivesse dado consciência, a inteligência artificial seria cada vez menos perigosa.
Why do we use tivesse dado in the first part but seria in the second part?
This is a mixed conditional. The 'if' clause talks about an unfulfilled condition in the past (the scientist actually did give it consciousness), which requires the Past Perfect Subjunctive (tivesse dado). The main clause describes the hypothetical result happening in the present (it would be less dangerous right now), so it uses the Conditional (seria).
Could we use the Imperfect tense instead of seria here?
Yes! In everyday Portuguese, it is very common to replace the Conditional with the Imperfect. You will frequently hear ... a inteligência artificial era cada vez menos perigosa. Both mean exactly the same thing, but the Imperfect sounds more natural in casual conversation.
Why is the pronoun lhe placed right after não instead of after the verb?
What exactly does lhe refer to in this sentence?
It refers ahead to the artificial intelligence (a inteligência artificial). The verb dar (to give) requires an indirect object for the receiver of the action. So, lhe stands in for 'to it' (giving consciousness to it).
How does the phrase cada vez menos work?
Cada vez menos literally translates to 'each time less', but it is the standard Portuguese expression for 'less and less' or 'decreasingly'. If you wanted to say 'more and more dangerous', you would simply use cada vez mais perigosa.
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