The conditional tense in Portuguese is a structure that is often replaced by the imperfect past tense. The use of the conditional tense represents a more careful use of the language, while the use of the imperfect past tense is more colloquial and consequently more common among the general population. It is very common for a person to ask a question using the conditional tense and for the response to be given in the imperfect past tense (with the conditional meaning). Example: Question: “GOSTARIAS (conditional) de visitar o Brasil? ?” Response: “Sim, ADORAVA (imperfect past tense with a conditional meaning) visitar o Brasil!

Here are the four rules that justify the use of the conditional in Portuguese:

RULE NUMBER 1: We use the conditional to talk about actions that are unlikely to happen because they depend on a condition that doesn’t come true. Example: Eu IRIA contigo à festa, mas… tenho um jantar de família nessa noite e não posso ir = I WOULD GO with you to the party, but… I have a family dinner that night and can’t go.

RULE NUMBER 2: Express DESIRES Example: I WOULD LOVE to be able to go to Brazil with you all = GOSTARIA imenso de poder ir ao Brasil convosco.

RULE NUMBER 3: Polite way to make requests Example: COULD you bring me a glass of water, please? = PODERIA trazer-me um copo de água, por favor?

RULE NUMBER 4: Giving advice Example: You should work less = DEVERIAS trabalhar menos.

To finish, I will now provide the conjugation of regular verbs in the conditional tense (choosing the verb “GOSTAR” = “to like” as an example).

To listen to the AUDIO in Portuguese, go to OPTIONS and switch the AUDIO to ON. To turn on the AUDIO, go to FLASHCARDS and click on the COG WHEEL (top right).

To learn and consolidate this list, you should follow the following STUDY METHOD:

1-FLASH CARDS

2-LEARN

3-SPELL

4-ASSESS

5-COMBINE