Faria, Teria, Poderia: How to Say ‘Would’ in Portuguese — Practice

Use the conditional for imagined results

The Portuguese conditional often translates as ‘would’ in English. For regular verbs, learners can recognize an infinitive followed by endings such as -ia: falar becomes falaria, comer becomes comeria, and abrir becomes abriria. Context tells you whether the sentence is hypothetical, tentative, or polite.

In an if-clause about an unreal or imagined situation, the result often uses the conditional: se eu tivesse tempo, viajaria. The se-clause supplies the condition; the conditional gives its imagined consequence.

Recognize frequent irregular stems and polite questions

Three useful irregular forms are faria (would do/make), teria (would have), and poderia (could/would be able to). The verbs dizer, trazer, and fazer also use a changed stem before the conditional endings: diria, traria, and faria.

Brazilian Portuguese commonly uses the conditional in softened requests, especially gostaria de (I would like) and poderia (could you). The word por favor adds politeness, but the conditional itself already makes the request less direct.

Remember: Look for -ia forms when Portuguese describes what someone would do, would have, or could do. Learn faria, teria, poderia, diria, and traria as high-use forms.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. I would travel more if I had vacation time.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Eu viajaria mais se tivesse férias.

2. We would buy the ticket today.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A gente compraria a passagem hoje.

3. They would live near work.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Eles morariam perto do trabalho.

4. I would have more time on Friday.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Eu teria mais tempo na sexta-feira.

5. Could you help me, please?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você poderia me ajudar, por favor?

6. I’d like to reserve a table for two.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Gostaria de reservar uma mesa para duas pessoas.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Look for -ia forms when Portuguese describes what someone would do, would have, or could do. Learn faria, teria, poderia, diria, and traria as high-use forms.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Faria, Teria, Poderia: How to Say ‘Would’ in Portuguese lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.