Past conjecture with the conditional perfect
When piecing together a crime scene, use the conditional perfect to express probability, conjecture, or assumptions about completed past events. This translates to "would have" or "must have" when deducing what probably occurred.
To form the conditional perfect, combine the conditional tense of the auxiliary verb haber with a past participle:
| Pronoun | Form of haber |
|---|---|
| yo | habría |
| tú | habrías |
| él, ella, usted | habría |
| nosotros, nosotras | habríamos |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | habrían |
| The murderer would have hidden the corpse. | El asesino habría escondido el cadáver. |
| They would have dragged the corpse toward the door. | Habrían arrastrado el cadáver hacia la puerta. |
| The suspects would have forced the lock of the garage. | Los sospechosos habrían forzado la cerradura del garaje. |
| Blackmail would have been the motive for the crime. | El chantaje habría sido el motivo del crimen. |
Actions that had just happened
To describe actions that occurred immediately before another past event ("had just" done something), use the imperfect tense of acabar (acababa, acababas, etc.) followed by de and an infinitive.
| The murderer had just forced the window. | El asesino acababa de forzar la ventana. |
| The woman had just discovered the blackmail. | La mujer acababa de descubrir el chantaje. |
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