Breakdown of Se a operação falha, cancelaremos o projeto.
o projeto
the project
se
if
a operação
the operation
falhar
to fail
Questions & Answers about Se a operação falha, cancelaremos o projeto.
Why do we use the present tense falha when the failure would happen in the future?
Just like in English, when we build a first conditional sentence (If X happens, Y will happen), the condition part with se (if) uses the present tense. We use the present indicative falha to describe this possible event, while the consequence (cancelaremos) is in the future tense.
How is the word cancelaremos built?
It is the future tense of cancelar (to cancel) for the nós (we) form. The regular future tense is very friendly to learn in Portuguese: you simply take the whole dictionary form of the verb (cancelar) and stick the future ending on it. For nós, that ending is -emos.
Could I say vamos cancelar instead of cancelaremos here?
Yes, and in everyday spoken Portuguese, you are actually much more likely to hear vamos cancelar (we are going to cancel). The formal future tense cancelaremos (we will cancel) sounds a bit more serious or professional, which makes sense for a business or technical sentence like this one.
Does the comma matter in this sentence?