ABSTRACT
The phrase se eu fosse você, . . . / se fosse você, eu . . . / eu, se fosse você, . . . ‘if I were you’ is one of the most common expressions for giving advice and making suggestions that do not involve the speaker. The advice itself is expressed using the conditional (rather formal), the imperfect (informal) or the imperfect of the verb ir ‘to go’ followed by an infinitive (neutral register):
Se fosse você, eu tentaria/tentava/ia tentar falar com ele. If I were you, I’d try talking to him.
