Frases condicionales III

Si hubiera llegado antes, habría encontrado al jefe

In this lesson we are going to reveal the third type of conditional phrases. While the first two refer to the future and the present tenses respectively, Condicional III looks into the past. It’s about actions that might have happened, but they didn’t. So, we make an assumption, that something would have happened on a certain condition.

Si hubiera fregado los platos, mi mamá no se habría enfadado conmigo – If I’d washed the plates, my mom wouldn’t have got angry with me

Si te hubieras levantado antes, habrías llegado a tiempo – If you’d got up earlier, you would have come on time

All verbs in these sentences express actions in the past, so the verb haber in combination with participle is used in both parts of the conditional phrases. In the si-clause verbs take forms of Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo (hubiera hecho). In the consequence-clause verbs come in Potencial (habría hecho). However, it’s not Potencial Simple (haría, comería), it’s called Potencial Compuesto (habría hecho, habría comido). Potencial Compuesto is like Potencial Simple, but means an action in the past.

Compare:

Potencial Simple: Yo olvidaría – I would forget

Potencial Compuesto: Yo habría olvidado – I would have forgotten

Si + Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo, Potencial Compuesto

Let’s play around with these two verb forms.

Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo

intentar

yo hubiera intentado

tú hubieras intentado

él, ella, usted hubiera intentado

nosotros hubiéramos intentado

vosotros hubierais intentado

ellos, ellas, ustedes hubieran intentado

Try it yourself:

colgar

yo – …

tú – …

él – …

nosotros – …

vosotros – …

ellos – …

Conjugate the following verbs, as well: decir, pensar, olvidar, romper.

Potencial Compuesto

intentar

yo habría intentado

tú habrías intentado

él, ella, usted habría intentado

nosotros habríamos intentado

vosotros habríais intentado

ellos, ellas, ustedes habrían intentado

Try it yourself:

corregir

yo – …

tú – …

él – …

nosotros – …

vosotros – …

ellos – …

Conjugate the following verbs, as well: ofrecer, tener, oír, escribir.

And now let’s move to building the whole conditional sentences of the third type.

No habríamos tenido problemas, si hubiéramos pagado las facturas – We wouldn’t have had problems, if we had paid the bills

Si Margarita hubiera dejado a Antonio, se habría casado con Juan – If Margarita had left Antonio, she would have married Juan

Si me hubierais engañado, me habría dado cuenta – If you had cheated me, I would have noticed

Try it yourself:

If the builders had finished the flat renovation, I would have moved to the new house

If you had rented a car, we would have gone to Burgos last week

If you (usted) had read the contract, you wouldn’t have signed it

As you can see, the third type of conditional phrases is quite similar to the second one. In both cases the combination of Imperfecto de Subjuntivo and Potencial is used. In the third type, though, these forms are applied exclusively to the verb haber (hubiera llamado, habría llamado).

Mixed type of conditional phrases

Si + Condicional III, Condicional II

It’s also possible to combine the second and the third types of conditionals. One part can be referred to the present, while the other part is referred to the past.

Si hubiera nacido en España no tendría que estudiar español ahora – If I had been born in Spain, now I wouldn’t have to learn Spanish

Si hubiera ganado el Barça, ahora sería un día festivo en toda Cataluña – If Barcelona FC had won, today would be a holiday in all Catalonia

Si me hubieran dicho que no podían venir, no les estaría esperando – If they had told me that they couldn’t come, I wouldn’t be waiting for them

Si supiera contar, no me habría equivocado – If I knew how to count, I wouldn’t have been confused

Try it yourself:

If you had gone to the doctor last week, now you would be already healthy

If I had got ready better, now I would be calmer

If you (vosotros) had called be yesterday, today we could meet

If people could fly, I would have flied to Cuba las summer

After having analyzed all types of conditional sentences, we can draw a thick line under the Spanish grammar. There are no verb endings left. All tenses and moods are learned. What is left is practice, which is way more interesting than memorizing grammar rules and doing exercises. You mustn’t forget, that the lexical layer in a language is much wider, than the grammar. You will still need to work on vocabulary for a lot of time. You will constantly be coming across new words, just keep on reading, listening and speaking Spanish.