The form "habría" is getting out of style. Learners of Spanish should be aware of

Probably you may have heard someone say or you may have read something like, "me hubiera gustado hacer un viaje". As a Spanish learner, you learned that the word "hubiera" is in past subjunctive and therefore it has to follow a "que", a "si" or "ojalá". But in this sentence it doesn't. Why is that so?

It's because, in the aformentioned sentence, "hubiera" should be "habría". "Habría" is getting out of style in contemporaneous Spanish and it's being replaced little by little by the form "hubiera" which is frowned upon by grammarians.

Let's take a look at some sentences:

Si hubieras comido, no hubieras tenido hambre.
If you had eaten, you wouldn't have gone hungry.

No hubiera aprobado el examen aunque hubiera estudiado mucho.
I wouldn''t have passed the exam even if I had studied.


Some speakers may use "hubiese".

No te hubiese reconocido.
I wouldn't have recognized you.


In some Latin American countries, "hubiera" can mean "should have" or "could have", such as in:

Me hubieras llamado por teléfono.
You should have called me by phone.

Te hubieras matado. La próxima vez, ten más cuidado.
You could have killed yourself. Be more careful next time.

Me hubieras avisado donde andabas.

You should have told me where you were.

What's the difference between "podrías haberlo hecho" and "podías haberlo hecho"?

Easy. "Podrías haberlo hecho" is used when there is a condition expressed. Example:

Podría haber terminado si hubiera tenido más tiempo.
I could have finished if I had had more time.

Podrías haberte caído si no hubieras tenido cuidado.
You could have fallen if you hadn't been careful.


If no condition is expressed, then "podías haberlo hecho" or "pudiste haberlo hecho" are preferred.

“Podíamos haber ido al cine para divertirnos un poco” (pero no lo hicimos)
“Podían haber llamado a la policía” (habría sido una buena idea, pero no lo hicieron)
“Podía haber hecho una tortilla para cenar” (pero no se me ocurrió, la verdad)
“Podía haberte pedido consejo”(pero no lo hice porque no quería que te preocuparas por mis problemas)
“¡Podías haberte matado!” (Lo que hiciste era peligroso, pero, gracias a Dios, no te ha pasado nada, no te has matado)
“Podía haberme levantado más temprano, pero tenía un sueño…..” (No me levanté, me quedé en la cama)


Now let's add a condition to the sentences above and let's see what happens.

“Podríamos haber ido al cine” (si no se nos hubiera hecho tan tarde)
“Podrían haber llamado a la policía” (si hubieran tenido un teléfono)
“Podría haber hecho una tortilla para cenar” (si hubiera tenido patatas)
“Podría haberte pedido consejo”(si hubieras estado a mi lado)
“Podrías haberte matado” (si hubieras subido a las rocas).
“Podría haberme levantado más temprano” (si no me hubiera acostado tan tarde)

The condition can be made explicit or not, but it's there.

How to express "should have done something" in Spanish?

There are various ways we can express things we wish should have occured in the past.

The simplest way to express this is by using the preterite form of the verb deber.  Let's take a look at some examples:

Debí hacerlo.
I should have done it.

Debiste llamar a la policía.
You should have called the police.

If you are new to learning Spanish, I recommend you to stick to this form as it's easy to remember and more simple.

However, there are more ways on how to express "should have done something" in Spanish. These are the possible forms:

Preterite form of the verb deber + haber: Debiste haberlo hecho.
Imperfect form of the verb deber + haber: Debías haberlo hecho.
Conditional form of the verb deber + haber: Deberías haberlo hecho.
Past subjunctive of the verb deber + haber: Debieras haberlo hecho.
Imperfect form of the verb tener + haber: Tenías que haberlo hecho.
Conditional form of the verb tener + haber: Tendrías que haberlo hecho.


Most of the time, the preference of the speaker is what makes the difference among these forms. I had a Spanish friend that once told me that the "debiste hacerlo" and "debiste haberlo hecho" form sound more of from mexican telenovelas. In Spain, the form "tenía que haberlo hecho" is much used as far as I can notice on how Spaniards speak. While the conditional forms and the one with past subjunctive sound formal and polite to native speakers.

To some speakers, the form debí haberlo hecho has more "recency" than debí hacerlo, as in:

Mi hermana murió hace años. Debí pasar más tiempo con ella cuando vivía.

Estaba distraído cuando mi hermana me hablaba. Hay algo que me comentó que no entendí del todo. La debí haber escuchado.


In some Latin American countries, especially in Mexico, people would use "hubiera" + the past participle to express "should have done something".

Me hubieras llamado por teléfono.
You should have called me by phone.

Aunque + SUBJUNCTIVE or INDICATIVE mood?

The answer depends whether the information is shared or is known by the person speaking and the person the speaker is speaking to. Let's take a look at this dialogue:


Hijo: Mamá, el profesor dice que el examen de mañana va a ser fácil.
Mamá: Vale. Pero aunque vaya a ser fácil, tienes que estudiar de todos modos.

In the dialogue above the son informs his mother that tomorrow's exam is going to be easy. Upon saying that, the fact that the exam is going to be easy is known both by the son and the mother. To make things simplier, the subjunctive mood is used if the information is known by the speaker and the person the speaker is talking to.


Let's take a look at more examples:

Carlo: Según el pronóstico meteorológico, va a llover mañana.
Marco: Aunuqe llueva mañana, iremos a la playa.

Susan: El novio de Cristina es muy rico.
Ana: Aunuqe sea muy rico, Cristina quiere trabajar de todas formas.


On the other hand, if the information is only known by the person speaking, the indicative is used. Let's take a look at this example:

Carlo: Ya he visto la casa. Es muy bonita. Aunque le faltan decoraciones.
Marco: Pero aunque le falten decoraciones mi hermano quiere comprarla.

In the first sentence, "faltar" is in indicative mood because Marco didn't know that the house lacks decorations., that is to say, Carlo is informing Marco about it. Remember that the indicative mood is used when stating an information. In the second sentence, however, "faltar" is in subjunctive because the fact that the house lacks decorations has become known by the two.

I hope everything now is clear. If you still have any question about this, post it in the comment section.

The definite article is used with parts of the body and clothing

The definite article is used with parts of the body and clothing instead of the possessive adjective.

Debes ponerte el impermeable cuando está lloviendo.
You should put on your raincoat when it's raining.

Me lavé la cara.
I washed my face.

Los estudiantes levantaron la mano.
The students raised their hands.

Spanish comparison of ideas

When the ideas are compared, de lo que is used where the single English word than suffices.

Este señor trabaja más de lo que ustedes piensan.
This gentleman works more than you think.

The Spanish expression "tan como"

In comparisons of equality, the English formula as + adverb/ adjective + as is translated into Spanish by tan + adverb/ adjective + como.

Ella no habla tan claramente como él.
She doesn't speak as clearly as he.

Ana no es tan bella como María.
Anne is not as pretty as Mary.

Comparison of adverbs in Spanish

Adverbs are compared like adjectives. Only four adverbs have irregular comparative forms.

mucho a lot, very
poco little

bien well
mal badly

más more
menos less

mejor better
peor worse

Este estudiante habla mejor que yo.
This student speaks better than I.

Carmen trabaja menos que la otra enfermera.
Carmen works less than the other nurse.