Other compound tenses
Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.
Yo ya (dormir) más si no hubiera tanto ruido.
I would have slept more already if there weren't so much noise.
The rule
You already know the present perfect and the pluperfect, which use the same pattern: a form of haber plus a past participle. These two additional tenses appear regularly in writing and formal speech, especially for talking about what will have happened or what would have happened.
The pattern
Future perfect: future of haber + participle. Used for actions that will be completed by a certain point.
| Person | future of haber |
|---|---|
| yo | habré |
| tú | habrás |
| él, ella, usted | habrá |
| nosotros | habremos |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | habrán |
Para las cinco, ya habré terminado. (By five, I will have finished.)
The future perfect also expresses guesses about the past: Habrá salido ya. (She must have left already.)
Conditional perfect: conditional of haber + participle. Used for actions that would have happened.
| Person | conditional of haber |
|---|---|
| yo | habría |
| tú | habrías |
| él, ella, usted | habría |
| nosotros | habríamos |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | habrían |
Yo habría ido, pero no pude. (I would have gone, but I could not.)
In si clauses about the past: Si hubiera sabido, habría llamado. (If I had known, I would have called.)
Examples
- Para mañana, ya habré terminadoBy tomorrow, I will have finished
- Habrá salido yaShe must have left already
- Yo habría ido, pero no pudeI would have gone, but I could not
- Si hubiera sabido, habría llamadoIf I had known, I would have called
- ¿Habrás leído el libro para el viernes?Will you have read the book by Friday?
- No habrían aceptado esa ofertaThey would not have accepted that offer
Watch out
- Para mañana, ya he terminado. Para mañana, ya habré terminado.For a future deadline, use the future perfect, not the present perfect.
- Yo habría ir, pero no pude. Yo habría ido, pero no pude.After haber, use the past participle, never the infinitive.
- Si habría sabido, habría llamado. Si hubiera sabido, habría llamado.The si clause takes the past subjunctive, never the conditional.