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Ojalá mi primer hallazgo hubiera sido tan valioso.

Ojalá mi primer hallazgo hubiera sido tan valioso.
I wish my first find had been so valuable.
From Lesson 393:Emphatic affirmation (sí que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Ojalá mi primer hallazgo hubiera sido tan valioso.

Why do we use the past perfect subjunctive (hubiera sido) here?
When ojalá is used to talk about something in the past that didn't happen (expressing a regret or an impossible wish), it must be followed by the past perfect subjunctive. It translates smoothly to "I wish [it] had been..." in English.
Why is it primer hallazgo instead of primero hallazgo?
Primero drops its final -o (becoming primer) whenever it comes directly before a masculine singular noun. Since hallazgo (find or discovery) is masculine and singular, we must use primer.
Could I use muy valioso instead of tan valioso here?
You could, but it changes the nuance slightly. Muy valioso just means "very valuable," whereas tan valioso means "so valuable." Here, tan implies a comparison to another specific discovery that was already mentioned.
How could I use sí que to emphatically agree that the other person's find really was valuable?
You could reply with something like, "Tu hallazgo sí que fue valioso" (Your find really was valuable). You place sí que directly before the conjugated verb (fue) to add strong, emphatic affirmation, especially if its value was surprising or previously doubted.

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