Conditional: falaria, faria (would)

The Portuguese conditional (futuro do pretérito) is the infinitive + -ia endings: falaria, comeria. It means would: polite requests, wishes, advice, and the future seen from the past.

When to use it

• Polite requests and wishes: Poderia me ajudar? Gostaria de um café.
• Advice: Eu falaria com o médico.
• Future in the past: Ele disse que ligaria.
• Imaginary situations (see unreal conditions): Eu compraria uma casa.
• In everyday speech, especially in Brazil, the imperfect often replaces it: Eu ia adorar. Podia me ajudar?
• English “would” for past habits is the imperfect, not the conditional: Todo verão íamos à praia.

Examples

• Gostaria de reservar uma mesa para dois.I’d like to book a table for two.
• Você poderia falar mais devagar?Could you speak more slowly?
• No seu lugar, eu aceitaria a oferta.In your place, I would accept the offer.
• Ela prometeu que chegaria cedo.She promised she would arrive early.
• Seria ótimo ver você!It would be great to see you!

Common mistakes

• ✗ Eu fazeria isso.✓ Eu faria isso.fazer drops -ze- in the conditional, as in the future: faria; English “would do” has no irregular form to warn you.
• ✗ Eu gostaria um café.✓ Eu gostaria de um café.gostaria keeps the de of gostar; English “I would like a coffee” has no preposition, which is why it is left out.
• ✗ Quando eu era criança, eu iria à praia todo verão.✓ Quando eu era criança, eu ia à praia todo verão.English uses “would” for past habits, but Portuguese uses the imperfect; the conditional iria would mean an imagined or future-in-the-past trip.
• ✗ Eu daria-lhe o livro.✓ Eu lhe daria o livro.A pronoun never follows a conditional ending; Brazil puts it before (lhe daria), formal European Portuguese inside (dar-lhe-ia).
• ✗ Você pôde me ajudar?✓ Você poderia me ajudar?English “could you…?” is a polite request, not the past; pôde is the past of poder, so the request needs poderia.