Let’s talk about the compound form of modo condicional (conditional mood), which is the mood used for certain hypothetical situations and possibilities. If you need a refresher on the simple form first, check out this Unit, or here are a couple examples to jog your memory:
A Paula disse que comeria assim que chegassePaula said that she would eat once she arrived
Eu dormiria melhor se não fizesses barulhoI would sleep better if you kept quiet
Now, the compound form of the conditional can indicate a past event that would have been possible, if a condition had been met. That condition is often introduced by the conjunction seif .
This corresponds to the ‘conditional perfect’ / ‘third conditional’ in English.
How It Is Formed
The condicional composto is formed like this:
auxiliary verb ter in the conditional + past participle of the main verb
Se tivesse estudado mais, teria tido melhores notasIf I had studied more, I would have had better grades
Terias dito o mesmo?Would you have said the same?
Even though the last example doesn’t include se, we can safely assume that a condition is implied, such as …se lá tivesses estado? (…if you had been there)?
Use Cases
As mentioned, the condicional composto can be used to refer to actions that could have taken place, but did not.
Se eles andassem mais depressa teriam apanhado o comboio.If they walked faster, they would have caught the train.
It often expresses regret (paired with a sad facial expression) or softens the tone to make a statement sound more polite or tentative.
Eu até teria ido ao concerto, mas não tive tempoI would have gone to the concert, but I didn't have time
Nós teríamos gostado imenso de ir convosco mas, infelizmente, o carro avariouWe would have really liked to go with you, but unfortunately the car broke down
Achas que teria sido melhor usar outro método?Do you think it would have been better to use another method?
Keep This In Mind
European Portuguese speakers usually prefer to go with the pretérito imperfeito rather than the condicional. This applies to both the simple and compound forms.
For example, instead of Se tivéssemos ido para fora do país, não teríamos conseguido voltarIf we had gone abroad, we would not have been able to return we could say Se tivéssemos ido para fora do país, não tínhamos conseguido voltarIf we had gone abroad, we would not have been able to return .
The choice comes down to the tone you want to present. Using the condicional may add more sophistication or politeness, while the pretérito imperfeito is more natural/casual.
Note: While the conditional is officially considered a mood, this is not entirely agreed upon. Some argue that it’s not a mood, but rather a verb tense within the indicativo mood, called futuro do pretérito (future past), which is what it’s called in Brazilian Portuguese. In case you ever come across this term, just remember that it corresponds to the conditional mood in European Portuguese.