Portuguese B1: The conditional & polite requests · Words

The conditional adds -ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -iam to the infinitive: gostaria, poderia. Irregular stems: fazer → faria, dizer → diria, trazer → traria. In everyday speech in Portugal the imperfeito often takes its place, above all to be polite: Queria um café. Podia ajudar-me?

• gostaria — I would like
• poderia — I could, would be able to
• deveria — I should
• faria — I would do
• diria — I would say
• queria — I’d like (polite)
• o conselho — advice
• no teu lugar — if I were you

• Queria uma mesa para dois. — I’d like a table for two.
• Podia dizer-me as horas? — Could you tell me the time?
• No teu lugar, esperava. — If I were you, I’d wait.
• Seria ótimo! — That would be great!