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Si hubieras administrado mejor el dinero, no tendrías esta deuda.

Si hubieras administrado mejor el dinero, no tendrías esta deuda.
If you had managed the money better, you wouldn't have this debt.
From Lesson 300:Mixed conditions·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of Si hubieras administrado mejor el dinero, no tendrías esta deuda.

no
no, not
tener
to have
el dinero
money
mejor
better
este
this
la deuda
the debt
haber
(auxiliary) have
si
if
administrar
to manage

Questions & Answers about Si hubieras administrado mejor el dinero, no tendrías esta deuda.

Why do we mix the past perfect subjunctive (hubieras administrado) with the simple conditional (tendrías) here?
This is a mixed conditional sentence. The first part describes a hypothetical condition in the past ('If you had managed...'), which requires the past perfect subjunctive (hubieras administrado). The second part describes the result happening right now in the present ('...you wouldn't have this debt'), which requires the simple conditional (tendrías). If the result had also happened in the past, you would use the conditional perfect instead (no habrías tenido).
Why is 'mejor' placed before 'el dinero'? Can I say 'administrado el dinero mejor'?
You will be understood if you say administrado el dinero mejor, but placing the adverb (mejor) directly after the verb it modifies (administrado) sounds much more natural. English speakers often put adverbs at the end of the sentence ('managed the money better'), but Spanish prefers to keep the verb and adverb tightly together before moving on to the direct object.
Is it okay to use 'hubieses' instead of 'hubieras' in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! Hubieras and hubieses are just two different endings for the past subjunctive, and they mean the exact same thing. In Latin America, the -ra endings (like hubieras) are much more common in everyday spoken Spanish, but both are completely valid.
The word 'deuda' looks familiar. Is it related to the verb 'deber'?
Yes, deuda (debt) is directly related to the verb deber (to owe). Just be careful with the spelling and pronunciation: it uses a diphthong (deu-da), so make sure to blend the 'e' and 'u' together into a single syllable, rather than confusing it with the 'ue' sound.

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