Tiver x Estiver

When speaking, we Brazilians have the habit of using the verb forms “tiver” and “tivesse” to refer to a place where we are or to something we are doing at a given moment. It is common to hear sentences such as “Se ela tiver no trabalho ainda, vou ligar depois” or “Pensei que você tivesse em casa”.

In these contexts, the highlighted terms were used incorrectly and represent an informal way of speaking. With the use of messaging apps and social networks, where informality prevails, it has become more common to see this usage in writing as well. However, for those who want to speak and write more correct and elegant Portuguese, it is essential to understand the grammatical issues involved in the expressions we use in everyday life.

But, after all, what is the problem with “tiver” and “tivesse”?

In the example sentences above, these words refer to the verb “estar”; however, because speech is dynamic, when we articulate words we often end up “swallowing” some letters — in this case, the syllable “es” — and thus depart from the standard norm and make these mistakes (and, by association, we end up carrying these deviations into writing). “Estou” becomes “tô”, “está” becomes “tá”, “estiver” becomes “tiver”, “estivesse” becomes “tivesse”, and so on. In speech, apocope (wow, how about googling that?) is widely accepted. The problem is when it is transferred to writing.

Suppressing syllables or even a single letter from speech in writing can create ambiguity, because “tiver” and “tivesse” also exist in the standard norm and correspond to conjugations of the verb “ter”. “Tiver” is the future subjunctive and “tivesse” is the imperfect subjunctive, both in the first and third person singular.

“Estiver”, on the other hand, is the future subjunctive, and “estivesse” is the imperfect subjunctive of the verb “estar”, also in the first and third person singular.

To make it clearer, let us look at examples of the use of these verb forms in the standard norm:

Estar

Quando você estiver na cidade, poderemos nos encontrar.

Eu acreditava que ela estivesse trabalhando, mas descobri que perdeu o emprego.

Se eu estivesse no local do acidente, poderia ter ajudado.

Ter

Se eu tivesse dinheiro, faria uma viagem internacional.

Quando ele tiver terminado a lição, poderá ir brincar.

Therefore, by understanding the differences between the verb forms and the correct way to say and write them, we can know in which situations to use them and thus avoid errors and ambiguities.