Question 1

Why do we use hubieran here instead of habían?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, when you talk about a hypothetical or 'unreal' situation in the past (something that didn't actually happen), you must use the past perfect subjunctive after si. Since they didn't actually investigate, we use hubieran investigado instead of the indicative habían investigado.

Question 2

Could I use hubiesen instead of hubieran in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, si hubiesen investigado is perfectly valid and means the exact same thing. However, in Latin America, the -ra endings like hubieran are used much more frequently in everyday speech than the -se endings.

Question 3

Could I switch the order and start with habrían prevenido?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. You can say Habrían prevenido la tragedia si hubieran investigado without changing the meaning. Just remember that the past perfect subjunctive (hubieran investigado) must always stay glued to the word si, no matter which half of the sentence comes first.

Question 4

How can I avoid mixing up the forms of haber in these long sentences?

Accepted Answer

A helpful trick is to look for the -ría ending in the conditional part (habrían), which translates to 'would have.' The part of the sentence with si (if) will never use the conditional; it takes the subjunctive -ra ending (hubieran).

Si hubieran investigado, habrían prevenido la tragedia.

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