B2 · Upper intermediate

The pluperfect subjunctive

How to form hubiera/hubiese + past participle and use it for unreal past situations and regret.

Formation: hubiera/hubiese + past participle

The pluperfect subjunctive is a compound tense: the auxiliary verb haber in the imperfect subjunctive + the past participle of the main verb.

Again there are two forms of haber: hubiera and hubiese — both correct, hubiera is more frequent.

The participle never changes form (no masculine/feminine or singular/plural).

	hablar	comer	vivir
yo	hubiera hablado	hubiera comido	hubiera vivido
tú	hubieras hablado	hubieras comido	hubieras vivido
él/ella/usted	hubiera hablado	hubiera comido	hubiera vivido
nosotros	hubiéramos hablado	hubiéramos comido	hubiéramos vivido
vosotros	hubierais hablado	hubierais comido	hubierais vivido
ellos/ustedes	hubieran hablado	hubieran comido	hubieran vivido

Examples

Si hubiera sabido la verdad, no habría venido.If I had known the truth, I wouldn't have come.

Ojalá hubieras estado allí.I wish you had been there.

Irregular past participles

A number of frequent verbs have an irregular participle that you need to memorize. This form always stays the same, including in the pluperfect subjunctive.

hacer → hecho
decir → dicho
ver → visto
escribir → escrito
poner → puesto
volver → vuelto
morir → muerto
abrir → abierto
romper → roto

Examples

Si lo hubieras dicho antes, te habríamos creído.If you had said it earlier, we would have believed you.

Ojalá hubiera visto esa película.I wish I had seen that movie.

Use: unreal situations in the past

The pluperfect subjunctive expresses that something did not happen, usually in two contexts:

1. In the 'si' clause of the third conditional (si + pluperfect subjunctive, ... conditional perfect).
2. After verbs/expressions requiring the subjunctive, when referring to something that was already completed before the moment being discussed (something that was hoped/expected/doubted to have already happened).

Examples

Si hubiéramos llegado antes, habríamos visto el principio.If we had arrived earlier, we would have seen the beginning.

No creía que hubieran terminado el proyecto tan rápido.I didn't believe they had finished the project so quickly.

Esperaba que ya hubieras llamado a tu madre.I hoped you had already called your mother.

Ojalá + pluperfect subjunctive: regret about the past

Ojalá + pluperfect subjunctive expresses regret about something that did not happen — a wish that can no longer be fulfilled in hindsight.

Examples

Ojalá hubiera estudiado más para el examen.I wish I had studied more for the exam.

Ojalá no hubiéramos vendido la casa.I wish we hadn't sold the house.

'Como si' + pluperfect subjunctive

When 'como si' refers to an action that was (or seemed to be) completed before the moment of the main clause, you use the pluperfect subjunctive instead of the imperfect subjunctive.

Examples

Hablaba del examen como si ya lo hubiera aprobado.He talked about the exam as if he had already passed it.

Me miró como si nunca me hubiera visto.She looked at me as if she had never seen me before.

💡 Tips

💡

Formula: (que) + hubiera/hubiese + participle — as with the other compound tenses, the participle never changes.

💡

Don't confuse the pluperfect subjunctive (hubiera hablado) with the imperfect subjunctive of haber used alone — it always pairs with a participle.

💡

'Ojalá + pluperfect subjunctive' = regret about something that can no longer be changed; 'ojalá + imperfect subjunctive' = a wish for the present/future.

🎯 Practise this topic with 10 interactive exercises (10)

🔧 Verbs: Past perfect subjunctive

Related grammar

The imperfect subjunctive

How to form the imperfect subjunctive and use it after past-tense main clauses, after 'como si', and in polite requests.

Subjunctive in concessive and purpose clauses

When 'aunque' takes the indicative or the subjunctive, and how to correctly use para que, con tal de que, a menos que and sin que.

Ser and estar: advanced use

Adjectives that change meaning with ser/estar, and the fixed expressions 'estar de' and 'ser de'.

Sequence of tenses (correlación de tiempos) with the subjunctive

Which subjunctive tense in the subordinate clause matches which tense in the main clause.

← Conditional sentences (type 1, 2, 3 and mixed)Subjunctive in concessive and purpose clauses →

Want to really master this?

Create a free account: placement test, personal learning path, exercises with instant feedback, pronunciation and a real teacher following your progress.

Start for free 📅 Book a trial lesson with Yohana on Preply