When a main verb in the past or conditional triggers the subjunctive, you use the imperfect subjunctive. But what if the action in the subordinate clause happened before the main action?
To express this anteriority in the past, we use the pluperfect subjunctive, which is the equivalent of saying someone "had done" something.
Forming the pluperfect subjunctive
Form it by combining the imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary verb haber with a past participle (like anticipado, visto, or hecho).
Just like the standard imperfect subjunctive, haber has two interchangeable sets of endings: the -ra forms and the -se forms.
| Subject | Haber (-ra form) | Haber (-se form) | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hubiera | hubiese | atacado |
| tú | hubieras | hubieses | atacado |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera | hubiese | atacado |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos | hubiésemos | atacado |
| vosotros/as | hubierais | hubieseis | atacado |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran | hubiesen | atacado |
Notice in the examples below how the main verb is in a past tense (like the preterite sorprendió), but the subjunctive action in the que clause happened even earlier.
| It surprised me that you hadn't anticipated the end of the game. | Me sorprendió que no hubieras anticipado el final de la partida. |
| It was a mistake that the rival had attacked with the pawn. | Fue un error que el rival hubiera atacado con el peón. |
Using the -se endings
The -ra forms are generally more common in spoken Spanish, but the -se forms mean exactly the same thing and are used in the same way.
| I couldn't believe that you had chosen that move in the opening. | No podía creer que hubieses elegido esa jugada en la apertura. |
| It was a pity that we hadn't attacked the pawn with our bishop. | Era una pena que no hubiéramos atacado el peón con nuestro alfil. |
Other triggers: como si
The phrase como si (as if) always triggers a past subjunctive. When describing an action that supposedly happened before the main action, you will use the pluperfect subjunctive.
| The player managed to retreat as if he hadn't seen the check. | El jugador llegó a retroceder como si no hubiera visto el jaque. |
