B2 · Subjunctive · Part 5 of 5
Subjuntivo perfecto y pluscuamperfecto
Two compound forms that close the system. Haya hecho reacts now to something already done; hubiera hecho talks about what did not happen. They look intimidating and are mechanical: take haber in the subjunctive and add the participle you already know.
Use haya hecho
- Reacting now to something already done
- After me alegra que, es una pena que
- After no creo que, when the action is finished
- Present or future main clause
Use hubiera hecho
- Something that did not happen
- After a past main clause: quería que hubiera…
- Regret: ojalá hubiera…
- The si half of an unreal past condition
How they are built
Haber in the subjunctive, then the participle. The participle never changes.
| perfecto | pluscuamperfecto | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | haya hecho | hubiera hecho |
| tú | hayas hecho | hubieras hecho |
| él / ella | haya hecho | hubiera hecho |
| nosotros | hayamos hecho | hubiéramos hecho |
| ellos | hayan hecho | hubieran hecho |
Reacting to something already done
The action is over, but your reaction is now, so the main clause is in the present and the second half takes haya.
- Me alegra que hayas venido.I am glad you came.
- Es una pena que no lo hayan visto.It is a shame they did not see it.
- No creo que haya llegado todavía.I do not think he has arrived yet.
What did not happen
Hubiera looks back at a door that stayed shut. It is the form of regret, and of every unreal condition about the past.
- Ojalá hubiera aceptado.I wish I had accepted.
- Si hubiera aceptado, no habría conocido a Camila.If I had accepted, I would not have met Camila.
- Aunque hubiera aceptado, hoy estaría dudando.Even if I had accepted, I would be having doubts today.
Hubiera and habría are not the same
Hubiera goes in the si half; habría goes in the result. Swapping them is the most common B2 error, and both halves sound similar enough that it slips past.
- Si hubiera estudiado, habría aprobado.If I had studied, I would have passed.
- Si habría estudiado…— not Spanish. · never
After an antecedent that may not exist
When you talk about someone or something you are not sure exists, the relative clause takes the subjunctive. With a finished action it takes the perfect one.
- No conozco a nadie que haya hecho eso.I do not know anyone who has done that.
- Busco a alguien que haya vivido allí.I am looking for someone who has lived there.
- Conozco a alguien que ha vivido allí.I know someone who has lived there. · this one exists, so indicative
Mistakes to avoid
Si habría sabido, no habría ido.
Si hubiera sabido, no habría ido.
Habría never follows si.
Me alegra que viniste.
Me alegra que hayas venido.
Emotion takes the subjunctive even about a fact that is certain.
No conozco a nadie que ha hecho eso.
No conozco a nadie que haya hecho eso.
A negated antecedent is not known to exist, so the relative clause takes the subjunctive.
Try it
Me alegra que ___ venido.
Si ___ estudiado, habría aprobado.
Ojalá ___ aceptado ese trabajo.
No conozco a nadie que ___ hecho algo así.
Aunque ___ aceptado, hoy estaría dudando.