Portuguese · Intermediate (B1) · Chapter 11 of 12
Travel stories
Histórias de viagem
Tell the story of a trip that went wrong in Portuguese: the imperfect subjunctive after se, disse que tinha sido cancelado, ao chegar, and reactions like Nossa!
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Form the imperfect subjunctive: tivesse, fosse, pudesse
- Talk about unreal situations: se eu tivesse dinheiro, ia para lá
- Report what had happened: disseram que o voo tinha sido cancelado
- React with surprise and sympathy: Nossa! Não acredito! Que azar!
Listen
In a café in Juiz de Fora, Caio tells his friend Mariana about his trip to the island of Fernando de Noronha. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Mariana
E aí, Caio, como foi Noronha? Imagino que você adorou.
So, Caio, how was Noronha? I imagine you loved it.
Caio
A ilha é linda, mas a viagem foi uma aventura. Para começar, o meu voo do Recife foi cancelado.
The island is beautiful, but the trip was quite an adventure. To start with, my flight from Recife was cancelled.
Mariana
Nossa! E o que você fez?
Wow. And what did you do?
Caio
A companhia aérea disse que o voo tinha sido cancelado por causa do mau tempo. Eles pagaram um hotel para mim e eu só viajei no dia seguinte.
The airline said the flight had been cancelled because of bad weather. They paid for a hotel for me and I only flew the next day.
Mariana
Que azar! Pelo menos o hotel foi de graça.
What bad luck. At least the hotel was free.
Caio
Foi. Mas, ao chegar em Noronha, descobri que a companhia tinha extraviado a minha mala.
It was. But when I got to Noronha, I found out that the airline had lost my suitcase.
Mariana
Não acredito! E você ficou sem roupa?
I don't believe it. And you had no clothes?
Caio
Fiquei dois dias só com a roupa do corpo. Tive que comprar uma sunga e duas camisetas na ilha, tudo caríssimo.
I spent two days with just the clothes I was wearing. I had to buy swimming trunks and two T-shirts on the island, all really expensive.
Mariana
E o tempo? Pelo menos você teve sorte com o tempo?
And the weather? At least you were lucky with the weather?
Caio
Tive, fez sol todos os dias. A mala chegou no terceiro dia, e eu mergulhei todas as manhãs. A paisagem debaixo d'água é incrível.
I was, it was sunny every day. My suitcase arrived on the third day, and I went diving every morning. The scenery under the water is amazing.
Mariana
Que inveja! Se eu tivesse dinheiro, ia para lá amanhã mesmo.
I'm so jealous. If I had the money, I'd go there tomorrow.
Caio
É caro, sim. Mas se eu pudesse, voltaria todo ano, mesmo com tanto azar.
It is expensive, yes. But if I could, I'd go back every year, even with all that bad luck.
Understand
The imperfect subjunctive: se eu tivesse
In chapter 5 you learned and as chunks. They are forms of the “imperfect subjunctive” (). It's built like the future subjunctive: take the form of the preterite, drop -ram and add -sse, -sse, -ssemos, -ssem.
The form has a written accent on the vowel before -ssemos: . and share the same forms, as in the preterite.
| Infinitive | preterite | / | / | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| / |
Real and unreal: se eu tiver / se eu tivesse
+ the future subjunctive (ch 6) is for something that may really happen: (If I have the money, I'll go to Noronha). + the imperfect subjunctive is for something that isn't true now, or is unlikely: (If I had the money, I'd go to Noronha).
The second half uses the conditional () or, in everyday speech, the imperfect (): . Both are correct; the conditional sounds more careful.
- Se eu pudesse, voltaria todo ano.If I could, I'd go back every year.
- Se a gente morasse perto da praia, mergulhava todo dia.If we lived near the beach, we'd dive every day.
- Se fosse mais barato, muita gente viajaria para lá.If it were cheaper, lots of people would travel there.
Reporting what had happened, ao chegar, and reactions
When you report what someone said about an earlier event, the preterite becomes the pluperfect: “” → (They said the flight had been cancelled). + infinitive means “when / on doing something”: (when I arrived, on arrival).
To react to someone's story, use these.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| Wow! / Oh my goodness! | |
| I don't believe it! | |
| What bad luck! | |
| How lucky! | |
| I'm so jealous! (friendly) | |
| I can imagine! |
More in the grammar: If-clauses: se · Reported speech · The imperfect subjunctive
New words
- mau / mábad · : bad weather
- a ilhaisland
- o vooflight · no accent since the 2009 spelling reform; : to cancel a flight
- Nossa!Wow! Goodness! · short for (Our Lady); very common for surprise
- a companhia aéreaairline
- o azarbad luck · : what bad luck!
- ao chegaron arriving, when (I) arrived · + infinitive
- descobrirto find out, to discover · : I found out that…
- a malasuitcase
- extraviarto lose, to mislay (luggage, post) · : my suitcase was lost
- a sorteluck · : to be lucky
- mergulharto dive, to go diving
- a paisagemscenery, landscape
- Que inveja!I'm so jealous! · friendly, not negative
Practise
1.Complete: “Se eu … mais tempo, viajaria mais.” (had)
2.Complete with the imperfect subjunctive of : “If I could, I'd go back every year.”
If I could, I'd go back every year.
3.Report it: “They said the flight had been cancelled.”
They said the flight had been cancelled.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.If I had the money, I'd go there.
5.Match the reactions with their meanings.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
6.Which sentence is about something that may really happen?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
O meu voo foi cancelado.
My flight was cancelled.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.