Unit 15: Past perfect subjunctive, word families, relative pronouns, and passive voice
15.1 Past Perfect (Pluperfect) Subjunctive
The past perfect (pluperfect) subjunctive is formed by the imperfect subjunctive of haber (the -<ra or the –se form) + past participle:
| escribir | traducción | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hubiera/hubiese escrito | (if, that) I had written |
| tú | hubieras/hubieses escrito | (if, that) you (fam. s.) had written |
| él, ella, Ud. | hubiera/hubiese escrito | (if, that) he/she/you had written |
| nosotros | hubiéramos/hubiésemos escrito | (if, that) we had written |
| vosotros | hubierais/hubieseis escrito | (if, that) you (fam. pl.) had written |
| ellos, ellas, Uds. | hubieran/hubiesen escrito | (if, that) they/you (form.pl. [fam. pl. L.A.]) had written |
The past perfect subjunctive is used when English employs the past perfect tense and when Spanish cues the subjunctive:
| Era maravilloso que Josefina hubiera aprendido tantas lenguas tan bien. | It was marvelous that Josefina had learned so many languages so well. |
| Dudábamos que hubieran tenido una coartada legítima. | We doubted that they had had a legitimate alibi. |
It is also used with “if” clauses in the past and combines with the conditional perfect (or, at times, the conditional) in the main clause:
| ¿Me lo habrías dicho si lo hubieras sabido? | Would you have told me if you had known it? |
| Si hubieran comprado ese terreno, ahora serían ricos. | If you/they had bought that land, now you/they would be rich. |
Like the imperfect subjunctive, the past perfect subjunctive also occurs after como si (“as if”):
| Habló como si hubiera entendido todo. | She spoke as if she had understood everything. |
Ojalá and Quién may also be followed by the past perfect subjunctive to express an impossible or improbable situation or a regret (see also section 13.5.):
| Ojalá hubiera estado allí. | If only (I wish) I had been there. |
| ¡Quién hubiera tenido la suerte de Paco! | I wish (If only) I had had Paco’s luck! |
When the subject of both clauses is the same, the si + past perfect subjunctive is at times replaced by de + haber + past participle:
| Si hubiéramos sabido eso, no habríamos venido.
De haber sabido eso, no habríamos venido. |
If we had known that, we would not have come. |
See the four subjunctive tenses studied, for purposes of contrast:
| Subjunctive Tense | Spanish | Traducción |
|---|---|---|
| present subjunctive | trabaje | (that) I (may) work |
| imperfect subjunctive | trabajara/trabajase | (that) I worked, might work |
| present perfect subjunctive | haya trabajado | (that) I have worked |
| past perfect subjunctive | hubiera/hubiese trabajado | (that) I had worked |
