What it is
The subjuntivo pluscuamperfecto describes an unreal action in the past: something that could have happened but didn't. It is the Spanish form behind if I had known, I wish you had called and as if nothing had happened.
English uses the ordinary past perfect (had + participle) for all of these, and also for plain facts (I had known). Spanish splits the two: había sabido states a real earlier fact, hubiera sabido marks it as unreal or imagined.
How it is formed
hubiera + participle
haber in the imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | hubiera / hubiese |
| tú | hubieras / hubieses |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera / hubiese |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos / hubiésemos |
| vosotros/as | hubierais / hubieseis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran / hubiesen |
In each cell the -ra form / the -se form.
Compared with the past perfect indicative only the auxiliary changes: había hablado (real) becomes hubiera hablado (unreal). The participle stays the same, irregular ones included (dicho, hecho, visto, escrito).
When you need it
Four triggers, always the same pattern. Past unreal si clauses, ojalá, como si and clauses after a verb in the past.
Si hubiera sabido la verdad, no te habría mentido.
If I had known the truth, I wouldn't have lied to you.
Past condition, conditional perfect (habría + participle) in the main clause
Ojalá hubiéramos comprado esa casa.
I wish we had bought that house.
Regret with ojalá (no verb for "wish" needed)
Habla como si hubiera vivido allí toda su vida.
He talks as if he had lived there all his life.
como si pointing back to something earlier
Me molestó que no hubieras llamado.
It bothered me that you hadn't called.
Subordinate clause after a past main clause, earlier action
