Conditional simple (falaria, gostaria)

The conditional is your politeness upgrade and hypothetical thinking tool! It transforms blunt "Quero um café" into elegant "Gostaria de um café," and lets you explore what-ifs: "Viajaria mais se tivesse dinheiro" (I would travel more if I had money). While Brazilians often substitute it with simpler forms in casual speech, knowing the conditional helps in formal situations, customer service, and whenever you need that extra touch of sophistication or diplomatic distance.

Formation Rules

Regular Verbs - Add to infinitive:

Polite Requests

• "Gostaria de fazer uma reserva" (I would like to make a reservation)

• "Poderia me passar o sal?" (Could you pass me the salt?)

• "Seria possível remarcar?" (Would it be possible to reschedule?)

• "Você teria um momento?" (Would you have a moment?)

Hypothetical Situations

• "Compraria um apartamento maior se pudesse" (I would buy a bigger apartment if I could)

• "Viajaria o mundo todo com esse dinheiro" (I would travel the whole world with that money)

• "Mudaria de emprego se não precisasse da estabilidade" (I would change jobs if I didn't need the stability)

• "Faria diferente se tivesse outra chance" (I would do it differently if I had another chance)

Poder in conditional vs. imperfeito

• "Poderia" = a polite request, often more formal

• "Podia" = can also be polite, depending on context

• Both acceptable for requests

Double conditional avoided

In a hypothetical condition introduced by se, use the imperfect subjunctive:

• ❌ "Se poderia, faria"

• ✅ "Se pudesse, faria"

Present tense for immediate wishes

Sometimes present tense preferred: