B1Spanish · Grammar

Conditional Perfect: habría

A lesson from the B1 course: the rule, examples and a 20-sentence test.

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Lesson

The Past Conditional (Condicional Perfecto)

Hello! Today we're diving into the world of the Condicional Perfecto, also known as the Past Conditional in Spanish. This tense is used to talk about things that could have happened in the past, but didn't. Think of it as the Spanish equivalent of 'would have done' or 'could have gone' in English.

The Condicional Perfecto is a compound tense, meaning it's formed with two parts: the conjugated auxiliary verb haber in the conditional tense, and the past participle (participio pasado) of the main verb.

Subject + haber (Conditional) + Past Participle

How do we form the Condicional Perfecto?

The key is to master the conjugation of haber in the simple conditional (Condicional Simple):

PronounHaber (Simple Conditional)
Yohabría
Túhabrías
Él/Ella/Ustedhabría
Nosotros/ashabríamos
Vosotros/ashabríais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedeshabrían

To this, we add the participio pasado (past participle). For regular verbs, we form it by adding -ado to the stem of -ar verbs (e.g., hablar -> hablado) and -ido to the stem of -er and -ir verbs (e.g., comer -> comido, vivir -> vivido). Don't forget about irregular verbs, such as hecho (from hacer), visto (from ver), or dicho (from decir).

When do we use the Condicional Perfecto?

  • To express hypothetical actions or situations in the past that didn't happen because a certain condition wasn't met. This often appears in Type III conditional sentences (with si + Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo).
  • To express regret or remorse about something that did or didn't happen in the past.
  • To express assumptions or speculation about past events.

Si hubiera sabido, habría venido.

If I had known, I would have come.

No habría dicho eso si no estuviera seguro.

I wouldn't have said that if I hadn't been sure.

Ella habría llegado tarde, supongo.

She must have arrived late, I suppose.

Remember! 🎉 The Condicional Perfecto is always HABRÍA (or another form of haber) + PAST PARTICIPLE. It's just like 'would have' in English!
Watch out! ⚠️ Don't confuse the Condicional Perfecto with the Pluscuamperfecto (e.g., había hecho). The Pluscuamperfecto means 'I had done' and refers to a past action completed before another past action, not a hypothetical one. Pay close attention to the conjugation of haber!

These exercises will help you practise and consolidate this form. ¡Mucha suerte! (Good luck!)

Test yourself

20 questions. Answer them all, then check — you'll see what you got right and what to fix.

  1. 1

    Fill in both gaps

    Si la 1, ella 2 a la fiesta del sábado pasado.

    If they had invited her, she would have gone to the party last Saturday.

    1
    2
  2. 2

    Complete the sentence

    En su situación, el año pasado nosotros lo mismo.

    In their situation, we would have done the same last year.

  3. 3

    Fill in both gaps

    Si 1 allí, ella 2 algo extraño.

    If she had been there, she would have felt something strange.

    1
    2
  4. 4

    Fill in both gaps

    En aquel viaje, nosotros 1 a gente nueva si 2 más.

    On that trip, we would have met new people if we had gone out more.

    1
    2
  5. 5

    Fill in both gaps

    Si 1 tiempo, 2 a tu amigo con la mudanza el sábado pasado.

    If you had had time, you would have helped your friend with the move last Saturday.

    1
    2
  6. 6

    Fill in both gaps

    Si no 1, anoche yo 2 la cuenta.

    If you hadn't insisted, I would have paid the bill last night.

    1
    2
  7. 7

    Fill in both gaps

    Si 1 anoche, usted 2 la película.

    If you had come last night, you would have seen the film.

    1
    2
  8. 8

    Fill in both gaps

    Si 1 tu número, yo 2 contigo antes.

    If I had known your number, I would have talked to you earlier.

    1
    2
  9. 9

    Type the missing words in the right form

    Si lo , ellas más para el examen de ayer.

    If they had known, they would have studied more for yesterday's exam.

  10. 10

    Type the missing word

    En aquella reunión, yo la verdad sin miedo.

    At that meeting, I would have told the truth without fear.

  11. 11

    Type the missing word

    Con mejor tiempo, ayer nosotros ir a la playa.

    With better weather, we would have decided to go to the beach yesterday.

  12. 12

    Type the missing words in the right form

    Si la carta, usted la verdad.

    If you had read the letter, you would have known the truth.

  13. 13

    Type the missing words in the right form

    Si allí anoche, ella algo extraño.

    If she had been there last night, she would have felt something strange.

  14. 14

    Type the missing word

    Sin clientes, nosotros la tienda.

    Without customers, we would have closed the shop.

  15. 15

    Put the sentence together — some words are extra

    If I had had time, I would have read that book last month.

  16. 16

    Put the sentence together — some words are extra

    Without yesterday's rain, you would have left earlier.

  17. 17

    Put the sentence together — some words are extra

    In the nineties, we would have lived there happily, but we had to emigrate.

  18. 18

    Put the sentence together — some words are extra

    If you had called me, I could have helped you yesterday.

  19. 19

    Build the missing word from the letters

    Con más tiempo, ellos el museo.

    With more time, they would have visited the museum.

  20. 20

    Match each word to its meaning

Printable test

The full test as a PDF with an answer key — print it for yourself or for a class.

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