El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo has two conjugation forms, because it uses haber conjugated in El Imperfecto Subjuntivo, which has two forms.
Conjugation 1 (used widely in speech in Spain, Latin America and South America)
| yo | hubiera | |
| tú | hubieras | |
| él /ella/ usted |
hubiera | + past participle |
| nosotros / nosotras |
hubiéramos | |
| vosotros/ vosotras |
hubierais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes |
hubieran |
Conjugation 2 (used more in written language and in Spain)
| yo | hubiese | |
| tú | hubieses | |
| él /ella/ usted | hubiese | + past participle |
| nosotros / nosotras | hubiésemos | |
| vosotros/ vosotras | hubieseis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hubiesen |
Have a look at these examples:
A él no le importaba lo que yo hubiera dicho.
He didn't care about what I had said.
Parece como si hubieses tenido una pelea con alguien.
It looks as if you have had a fight with someone.
Esperábamos que él hubiese hecho lo mismo por ti.
We were hoping that he had done the same for you.
Si usted hubiera venido antes, yo le habría atendido.
If you had come before, I would have served you.
Si nosotros hubiéramos hablado con Raquel, ella estaría más contenta.
If we had talked to Raquel, she would be happier.
Yo habría esperado hasta que vosotros hubieseis venido de Málaga.
I would have waited until you had come from Málaga.
Me sorprendió que ellos hubieran puesto esas condiciones.
It surprised me that they had imposed those conditions.
Nos extrañó que ustedes hubiesen decidido mudarse.
We found it odd that you had decided to move.
Note that to conjugate all verbs in El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo, you follow this pattern:
1- hubie-ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -rais, -ran + past participle
2- hubie-se, -ses, -se, -semos, -seis, -sen + past participle
Remember that in Spanish there are some very common verbs with irregular past participles that don't have -ado/-ido endings.
hacer > hecho escribir > escrito poner > puestoSee also
1. List of Irregular Spanish past participles
2. Using adverbial clauses para que, antes (de) que, hasta que, con tal (de) que, etc. + El Presente de Subjuntivo (present subjunctive)
Si usted hubiera venido antes, yo le habría atendido.
If you had come before, I would have served you.
Esperábamos que él hubiese hecho lo mismo por ti.
We were hoping that he had done the same for you.
Parece como si hubieses tenido una pelea con alguien.
It looks as if you have had a fight with someone.
Yo habría esperado hasta que vosotros hubieseis venido de Málaga.
I would have waited until you had come from Málaga.
A él no le importaba lo que yo hubiera dicho.
He didn't care about what I had said.
Si nosotros hubiéramos hablado con Raquel, ella estaría más contenta.
If we had talked to Raquel, she would be happier.
Nos extrañó que ustedes hubiesen decidido mudarse.
We found it odd that you had decided to move.
Me sorprendió que ellos hubieran puesto esas condiciones.
It surprised me that they had imposed those conditions.
Hola,
In the following quiz I replied with ‘...solamente hubiéramos llegado...’ and it was marked as incorrect. The required answer was just ‘hubiéramos llegado’. Was I in fact wrong to include ‘solamente’? Is the ‘if only’ implied here?
Si ________ a tiempo. If only we had come on time.HINT: Conjugate "llegar" in El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de SubjuntivoGracias a todos
Hola Clara,
Yes, exactly; the "only" is implicit in "Si..."
They reason why we've translated it as "If only..." is because this type of hypothetical sentences with Si+pluperfect subjunctive, expresses something "impossible to happen". We think "if only..." in English conveys that impossibility.
Saludos
Inma
Hola,
In the following quiz I replied with ‘...solamente hubiéramos llegado...’ and it was marked as incorrect. The required answer was just ‘hubiéramos llegado’. Was I in fact wrong to include ‘solamente’? Is the ‘if only’ implied here?
Si ________ a tiempo. If only we had come on time.HINT: Conjugate "llegar" in El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de SubjuntivoGracias a todos
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Hola Julia
You may also use "may/might" in English to covey the uncertainty/doubt of the subjunctive mood in Spanish.
Gracias
Inma
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Hola Peter,
Both "hubiera dicho" and "había dicho" would be grammatically correct. If you say "lo que yo había dicho", using the indicative mood, that'd mean literally "what I had said". If we use "lo que yo hubiera dicho", using the subjunctive mood, that'd mean "whatever I may have said". The second option with the subjunctive implies uncertainty, doubt, unknown information...
I hope this helps.
Gracias
Inma
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En este frase, no entiendo por que es "Si usted hubiera venido antes, yo le atendería" y no "Si usted hubiera venido antes, yo le habria atendido". No entiendo por que la tradución en ingles es I would have served you y no I would serve you.... Help!
Hola Cindy
Tienes razón. La traducción correcta es "yo le habría atendido"
Gracias. Ya lo hemos corregido.
Inma
En este frase, no entiendo por que es "Si usted hubiera venido antes, yo le atendería" y no "Si usted hubiera venido antes, yo le habria atendido". No entiendo por que la tradución en ingles es I would have served you y no I would serve you.... Help!
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