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5.4: Past Perfect Subjunctive

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Pasado perfecto del subjuntivo (también pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo)

The past perfect subjunctive is known in Spanish as "pasado perfecto del subjuntivo" or "pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo". This is the subjunctive form of the past perfect, covered previously. In Spanish, when the past perfect is used preceded by a verb or expression that triggers the subjunctive, the past perfect subjunctive must be used instead. It is used to indicate an action that "had happened" in the past, before another action previously mentioned in the context.

Fórmula

The structure of the past perfect subjunctive is the same as the structure used with other perfect tenses, but it is not an independent tense. Just like other subjunctive tenses, the past perfect subjunctive must be used in the subordinate clause, after the word "que".

main clause in a past tense + que + subordinate clause in past perfect subjunctive

Conjugación

The past perfect subjunctive requires the verb "haber" to be conjugated in the past subjunctive, followed by a past participle. Since the verb "haber" is always the conjugated verb, there are no irregular verbs in this tense. However, irregular past participles must be taken into consideration.

Past Perfect Subjunctive Conjugations
Infinitivo Yo Usted/él/ella Nosotros Vosotros Ustedes/ellos
votar hubiera votado hubieras votado hubiera votado hubiéramos votado hubierais votado hubieran votado
proponer hubiera propuesto hubieras propuesto hubiera propuesto hubiéramos propuesto hubierais propuesto hubieran propuesto
tener hubiera tenido hubieras tenido hubiera tenido hubiéramos tenido hubierais tenido hubieran tenido
decidir hubiera decidido hubieras decidido hubiera decidido hubiéramoa decidido hubierais decidido hubieran decidido

Ejemplos

  • Mi padre esperaba que yo hubiera votado por el otro candidato. (My father hoped that I had voted for the other candidate.)
  • El canidato empezó su discurso antes de que toda la gente hubiera llegado. (The candidate started his speech before all the people had arrived.)

Práctica 1


5.4: Past Perfect Subjunctive is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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