Question 1

Why does this sentence start with "De haber ganado" instead of "Si hubiéramos ganado"?

Accepted Answer

Using de followed by an infinitive is an alternative way to express an "if" condition. Here, it uses the perfect infinitive haber ganado to mean "If we had won." It means the exact same thing as Si hubiéramos ganado but sounds a bit more elegant and concise.

Question 2

How do we know who is doing the winning in "De haber ganado" since there is no conjugated verb?

Accepted Answer

When you use an infinitive phrase to set up a condition, the subject is assumed to be the same as the one in the main clause. Because the second half of the sentence uses habríamos terminado (we would have finished), the listener naturally knows that "we" are also the ones who would have won.

Question 3

Is it possible to use "hubiéramos terminado" instead of "habríamos terminado" here?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In everyday Latin American speech, it is extremely common to replace the conditional perfect (habríamos terminado) with the pluperfect subjunctive (hubiéramos terminado) in the result clause of a "what if" scenario like this. Both are perfectly correct and would mean "we would have finished."

Question 4

Why is "invictos" plural when the noun right before it, "torneo", is singular?

Accepted Answer

The adjective invictos (undefeated) describes the implied subject of the sentence, which is "we" (nosotros). It does not describe the tournament. Because it refers to the plural "we", the adjective must also be plural.

De haber ganado esta ronda, habríamos terminado el torneo invictos.

Breakdown of De haber ganado esta ronda, habríamos terminado el torneo invictos.

Questions & Answers about De haber ganado esta ronda, habríamos terminado el torneo invictos.

Learn De haber ganado esta ronda, habríamos terminado el torneo invictos and more in Spanish