Brain Boost - Perfect Tenses: Present, Past, and Future
Sections 17-18: Compound Tenses - Spanish Conditional and Subjunctive Perfect
Brain Boost - Perfect Tenses: Present, past, future, conditional, & subjunctive
Sections 19-20: Compound Tenses - Spanish Past Subjunctive, Past Preterite Perfect
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Instruction: Spanish Conditional Perfect – Irregular

The conditional perfect tense in Spanish is used to describe actions that would have been completed under certain conditions or by a certain point in the past. Just like with the regular conditional perfect, this tense is formed by combining the conditional tense of haber (to have) with the past participle of the main verb. However, some verbs have irregular past participles that you need to memorize, as they do not follow the standard -ado or -ido endings.

1. Conjugation of Haber in the Conditional Perfect Tense

As a quick review, haber is conjugated in the conditional tense and combined with the past participle of the main verb.

Conjugation of Haber in the Conditional Tense:

Yo

habría

I would have

Nosotros

habríamos

we would have

(Juana, Juan)

habrías

you would have

Vosotros

(informal Spain)

habríais

you all would have

Él/Ella/Ud.

(Sra./Dr. García)

habría

he/she/you would have

Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

habrían

they/you all would have

2. Common Irregular Past Participles

Here are some common verbs with irregular past participles that you will need to use in the conditional perfect tense:

 

InfinitivePast ParticipleEnglish Equivalent
abrir (to open)abiertoopened
decir (to say)dichosaid
escribir (to write)escritowritten
hacer (to do/make)hechodone/made
morir (to die)muertodied
poner (to put)puestoput/placed
resolver (to resolve)resueltoresolved
romper (to break)rotobroken
ver (to see)vistoseen
volver (to return)vueltoreturned

3. Using Irregular Past Participles in the Conditional Perfect Tense

When forming the conditional perfect tense with irregular verbs, follow the same structure as with regular verbs: conjugate haber in the conditional tense and then add the irregular past participle.

Examples:

  • Yo habría hecho la tarea, pero se me olvidó.
    (I would have done the homework, but I forgot.)

  • Ellos habrían visto esa película, pero no tuvieron tiempo.
    (They would have seen that movie, but they didn’t have time.)

  • Nosotros habríamos vuelto antes si *hubiéramos sabido del tráfico.
    (We would have returned earlier if we had known about the traffic.)

*Note: you will learn this tense, Pluperfect (Past) Subjunctive, in a future lesson.

4. Practice Exercise

Complete the following sentences using the correct form of haber and the irregular past participle of the verb in parentheses:

  1. Tú __________ (decir) la verdad si te *hubieran preguntado.
  2. Ellas __________ (ver) la obra de teatro si *hubieran podido conseguir entradas.
  3. Yo __________ (hacer) el trabajo si me lo *hubieran pedido.
  4. Nosotros __________ (abrir) la tienda más temprano si lo *hubiéramos sabido.
  5. Ustedes __________ (escribir) una carta, pero no tenían tiempo.
  6. Él __________ (poner) el dinero en el banco si *hubiera tenido más.
  7. Nosotros __________ (romper) el récord si *hubiéramos tenido más tiempo para practicar.
  8. Ellos __________ (volver) a casa antes si no *hubieran tenido una reunión.

Answers:

  1. Tú habrías dicho la verdad si te *hubieran preguntado. (You would have told the truth if they had asked you.)
  2. Ellas habrían visto la obra de teatro si *hubieran podido conseguir entradas. (They would have seen the play if they had been able to get tickets.)
  3. Yo habría hecho el trabajo si me lo *hubieran pedido. (I would have done the work if they had asked me.)
  4. Nosotros habríamos abierto la tienda más temprano si lo *hubiéramos sabido. (We would have opened the store earlier if we had known.)
  5. Ustedes habrían escrito una carta, pero no tenían tiempo. (You all would have written a letter, but you didn’t have time.)
  6. Él habría puesto el dinero en el banco si *hubiera tenido más. (He would have put the money in the bank if he had had more.)
  7. Nosotros habríamos roto el récord si *hubiéramos tenido más tiempo para practicar. (We would have broken the record if we had had more time to practice.)
  8. Ellos habrían vuelto a casa antes si no *hubieran tenido una reunión. (They would have returned home earlier if they hadn’t had a meeting.)
Conclusion

The conditional perfect tense combined with irregular past participles allows you to describe hypothetical actions that would have occurred under different circumstances. By mastering these irregular forms and practicing their use in the conditional perfect tense, you’ll be able to express complex ideas about what could have been. Keep practicing these forms to become confident in using the conditional perfect tense with both regular and irregular verbs!