Breakdown of Faz conforme ele quiser, o capitão é imprevisível!
ser
to be
ele
he
querer
to want
o capitão
the captain
fazer
to do
conforme
as, according to
imprevisível
unpredictable
Questions & Answers about Faz conforme ele quiser, o capitão é imprevisível!
Why is quiser used here instead of the present tense quer?
The word conforme (as or according to) triggers the future subjunctive when it refers to an action that is hypothetical or hasn't happened yet. Because you are being told to act according to whatever the captain might want in the future, the verb querer must be in the future subjunctive form quiser.
How is the future subjunctive quiser formed?
Querer is highly irregular. To form its future subjunctive, you take the third-person plural of the simple past tense (preterite). For querer, that past form is quiseram. Drop the -am to get the stem quiser, and since the subject is ele, no extra ending is added.
Why does the sentence start with faz instead of faças or faça?
Faz is the informal affirmative command (imperative) for tu. It is a short, direct way to tell a friend or peer to do something. If you were giving this warning to someone formally using você, you would use the present subjunctive form faça instead.
Could I use como instead of conforme in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! Faz como ele quiser means exactly the same thing. Both como and conforme act as conformity conjunctions here, and both require the future subjunctive when talking about someone's future or undetermined preference.
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