⇒ The conditional perfect (el condicional anterior) describes an action in the past that would have happened but did not due to some other event.
⇒ It can also be used to express the probability of an action that has already been completed.
⇒ The conditional perfect is a combination of the past participle and the conditional of the verb haber
| Conditional Perfect Formula:haber in the conditional + past participle |
| Subject | Haber in the Conditional |
|---|---|
| yo | habría |
| tú | habrías |
| él, ella, usted | habría |
| nosotros | habríamos |
| vosotros | habríais |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | habrían |
⇒ In the examples below, the conditional perfect is used to talk about actions that would have happened had something else not gotten in the way.
| Yo habría comprado los regalos pero no tenía tiempo.I would have bought the gifts, but I didn't have time. |
| Él habría leído el libro, pero el teléfono soñó.He would have finished the book, but the telephone rang. |
| Nosotros habríamos cenado en ese restaurante si hubiera sabido lo bueno que era.We would have eaten at that restaurant if I had known how good it was. |
⇒ In the examples below, the conditional perfect is used to talk about an action that probably happened or was true.
| Habría comido antes de salir.He had probably already eaten before leaving. |
| Habrían sido las ocho cuando llegamos.It must have been eight o’clock when we arrived. |
⇒ There are four other perfect tenses in the indicative: the present perfect, the past perfect, the preterite perfect, and the future perfect.