Past Wishes and Regrets
To express regret about something that already happened (or didn't happen), use ojalá (meaning "if only" or "I wish") followed by the past perfect subjunctive (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo). This expresses a strong desire to change a past reality. As with other ojalá structures, the word que is optional and often dropped.
To form the past perfect subjunctive, combine the imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary verb haber with the past participle of your main verb (e.g., estudiado, sido, elegido).
| Subject | Haber (auxiliary) |
|---|---|
| yo | hubiera |
| tú | hubieras |
| él / ella / usted | hubiera |
| nosotros / nosotras | hubiéramos |
| vosotros / vosotras | hubierais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hubieran |
Use ojalá hubiera for regrets about your own actions, or ojalá no hubiera for things you wish you hadn't done:
| I regret being so stupid; I wish I had studied more! | Me arrepiento de ser tan estúpida; ¡ojalá hubiera estudiado más! |
| I wish I hadn't been so immature in high school! | ¡Ojalá no hubiera sido tan inmaduro en el instituto! |
You can also express regret over someone else's past choices by using the corresponding form of haber:
| What a stupid boy! I wish he had listened to his parents! | ¡Qué chico tan estúpido! ¡Ojalá hubiera escuchado a sus padres! |
| I wish you had been more obedient as a child! | ¡Ojalá hubieras sido más obediente de pequeño! |
If the verb you are using is reflexive, such as atreverse (to dare), place the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os) immediately before the conjugated form of haber:
| I wish we hadn't dared to go out with that gang! | ¡Ojalá no nos hubiéramos atrevido a salir con esa pandilla! |
| Today I am ashamed of my old gang; I wish we had been smarter! | Hoy me avergüenzo de mi vieja pandilla; ¡ojalá hubiéramos sido más inteligentes! |
