Español — Unreal past conditionals
To talk about a past condition that never happened and its (usually past) result, Spanish combines the pluperfect subjunctive with the compound conditional: "Si hubiera sabido, habría venido." Mixed conditionals link a past condition to a present result, or vice versa.
How it works
The if-clause uses the pluperfect subjunctive (hubiera / hubiese + participle) and the main clause uses the compound conditional (habría + participle): "Si hubiera sabido, habría venido." The -ra and -se forms are interchangeable, and either clause may come first.
Examples
| Type | Example | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Past → past | Si hubiera sabido, habría venido. | Condition and result both unfulfilled in the past. |
| Variant -se | Si hubieses llamado, te habría esperado. | hubiese equals hubiera; freely interchangeable. |
| -ra in both clauses (colloquial) | Si me lo hubieras dicho, no hubiera venido. | In speech the pluperfect subjunctive can replace the conditional in the main clause. |
| Mixed: past → present | Si hubiera estudiado, ahora sería médico. | Past condition, present consequence (simple conditional). |
| Mixed: present → past | Si no fueras tan tímido, se lo habrías dicho. | General/present condition (imperfect subjunctive), past result. |
| Regret / reproach | ¡Si me lo hubieras dicho antes! | A stranded if-clause alone expresses regret or reproach. |
Good to know
Never put the plain conditional in the if-clause: not "Si habría sabido" but "Si hubiera sabido". After si for unreal meaning Spanish uses only the subjunctive (imperfect for present/future, pluperfect for past); habría belongs in the result clause.