The Spanish Past Perfect Subjunctive, also known as the Pluperfect Subjunctive or “Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo” in Spanish, is a compound tense. This means it requires two parts: the past subjunctive form of the auxiliary verb ‘haber’ and the past participle of the main verb. In this article, we’ll guide you through the conjugation process.
Past Subjunctive of ‘Haber’
First, you’ll need to conjugate the auxiliary verb ‘haber’ in the past subjunctive. Here’s the conjugation:
| Subject | Past Subjunctive of Haber |
|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera/hubiese |
| Tú | hubieras/hubieses |
| Él/Ella/Usted | hubiera/hubiese |
| Nosotros/Nosotras | hubiéramos/hubiésemos |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | hubieran/hubiesen |
Note: Both “hubiera” and “hubiese” forms are accepted and used interchangeably.
Past Participle
Next, you’ll form the past participle of the main verb. For regular verbs, you’ll replace -ar endings with -ado, and -er and -ir endings with -ido.
Let’s look at the past perfect subjunctive forms of three verbs: hablar (to talk), comer (to eat), and vivir (to live).
Hablar
| Subject | Past Perfect Subjunctive of Hablar |
|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera/hubiese hablado |
| Tú | hubieras/hubieses hablado |
| Él/Ella/Usted | hubiera/hubiese hablado |
| Nosotros/Nosotras | hubiéramos/hubiésemos hablado |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | hubieran/hubiesen hablado |
Comer
| Subject | Past Perfect Subjunctive of Comer |
|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera/hubiese comido |
| Tú | hubieras/hubieses comido |
| Él/Ella/Usted | hubiera/hubiese comido |
| Nosotros/Nosotras | hubiéramos/hubiésemos comido |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | hubieran/hubiesen comido |
Vivir
| Subject | Past Perfect Subjunctive of Vivir |
|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera/hubiese vivido |
| Tú | hubieras/hubieses vivido |
| Él/Ella/Usted | hubiera/hubiese vivido |
| Nosotros/Nosotras | hubiéramos/hubiésemos vivido |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | hubieran/hubiesen vivido |
By mastering the conjugation of the Past Perfect Subjunctive in Spanish, you’ll be able to express complex ideas and emotions related to unreal or hypothetical past events. As always, practice makes perfect, so try using this tense in your everyday Spanish language usage.