Condicional de Cortesia

Level 3

The Condicional de Cortesia (Courtesy Conditional) is used to make requests or express wishes more politely. It transforms a direct demand like 'I want' into a softer 'I would like,' creating a respectful social distance.

How It Works

In Portuguese, being too direct can sometimes come across as blunt. The Condicional de Cortesia is a key tool for 'mitigation'—softening your requests to be more socially acceptable. In Brazil, this tense is officially known as the Futuro do Pretérito.

1. Formation:
The pattern is formed by adding the endings -ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -íeis, -iam to the full infinitive of the verb. For example:

  • Gostar → Gostaria (I would like)
  • Poder → Poderia (I could/would be able to)

2. Irregularities:
Only three verbs (and their derivatives, such as refazer or desdizer) have irregular stems in this tense:

  • Fazer → Faria
  • Dizer → Diria
  • Trazer → Traria

3. Register and Usage:
The Condicional represents a high degree of politeness or social distance. While it is a standard for formal requests, the Imperfeito de Cortesia (e.g., Queria, Podia, and especially Gostava in Portugal) is also perfectly standard and widely used in professional contexts like hotels or business meetings.

4. Pronoun Placement:
In Brazilian Portuguese, pronouns usually come before the verb (proclisis): Eu lhe diria. In European Portuguese, mesoclisis is the standard grammatical requirement for this tense in formal writing (e.g., Dar-lhe-ia), unless a proclisis trigger like não is present. However, in modern spoken European Portuguese, speakers often substitute the Conditional with the Imperfeito (e.g., Dava-lhe) to avoid the complexity of mesoclisis.

Examples (5)

  1. Gostaria de um café, por favor.

    I would like a coffee, please.

    Word by Word: I would like of a coffee, please.

    Using 'gostaria' instead of 'quero' (I want) makes the request much more polite.

  2. Poderia me dizer onde fica a estação?

    Could you tell me where the station is?

    Word by Word: Could [you] me to tell where stays the station?

    The verb 'poderia' softens the request for information when speaking to a stranger.

  3. Eu diria que esta não é a melhor solução.

    I would say that this is not the best solution.

    Word by Word: I would say that this not is the best solution.

    Using the conditional 'diria' makes the opinion sound less aggressive and more like a suggestion.

  4. Faria o favor de abrir a janela?

    Would you do the favor of opening the window?

    Word by Word: Would [you] do the favor of to open the window?

    This uses the irregular verb 'fazer' to make a very formal request.

  5. Nós gostaríamos de marcar uma reunião.

    We would like to schedule a meeting.

    Word by Word: We would like of to mark a meeting.

    Standard professional phrasing for setting up an appointment.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the preposition 'de' after 'gostaria'.

    Gostaria fazer uma reserva.
    Gostaria de fazer uma reserva.

    In Portuguese, the verb 'gostar' (to like) always requires the preposition 'de', even in the conditional form.

  • Using the conditional in very casual settings.

    Mãe, você me daria o sal?
    Mãe, você me dá o sal?

    While not grammatically 'wrong', using the conditional with close family for simple tasks can sound overly stiff or robotic. Use the present or imperative instead.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Condicional de CortesiaLevel 3

Learn This First

To use the conditional for politeness, you must first learn the Futuro do Pretérito conjugation for both regular and irregular verbs. Understanding formal address is also helpful as these patterns are often used together in social contexts.