hubiera

Hubiera is the imperfect subjunctive form of the auxiliary verb haber used in Spanish to form past subjunctive tenses. It appears in the -ra series of the imperfect subjunctive and is used with a past participle to create the pluperfect (past perfect) subjunctive, as in hubiera dicho or hubieras llegado. The corresponding -se form hubiese is found in some dialects and registers. Together with other forms (hubieras, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran), hubiera yields all the singular and plural options in this mood and tense.

Usage in sentences of uncertainty, desire, or hypothetical past situations is the core function of hubiera. The imperfect subjunctive expresses non-real or counterfactual past events and often appears after si in conditional clauses: Si yo hubiera sabido, habría actuado de otra manera. It also occurs after verbs and expressions that require the past subjunctive, and in phrases of desire or emotion about the past, such as Ojalá que hubiera llovido. In indirect speech, hubiera can report past possibilities or wishes in a non-assertive way.

Forms and variation: The complete set in the -ra series is: yo hubiera, tú hubieras, él/ella hubiera, nosotros hubiéramos, vosotros hubierais, ellos hubieran. The -se series (yo hubiera) is hubiese, hubieses, hubiese, etc., with laxer usage in many dialects. Hubiera is generally more common in everyday speech, while hubiese is often reserved for formal or literary contexts.

Examples: Si yo hubiera sabido la verdad, no habría actuado así. Ojalá que hubiera llovido ayer. No creía que ella hubiera llegado a tiempo. These constructions illustrate hubiera in past hypothetical or non-real contexts.