Conjugate haber in the Spanish imperfect subjunctive (El Imperfecto de Subjuntivo)

Written by qualified Spanish expert Silvia Piriz BA
Last updated: 2022-09-27
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We use El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo in some subordinate clauses and in particularly polite requests.

All Spanish verbs can be conjugated in El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo -there are two conjugations sets to use for this tense. Some verbs are irregular in the imperfect subjunctive if they are irregular in the preterite, for example the verb "haber".

Learn how to conjugate Spanish verb haber in El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo in Spanish

Rather unusually, this tense has two conjugation forms. Take a look at haber conjugated in El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo:

Conjugation 1 (used widely in speech in Spain, Latin America and South America)

yo hubiera
tú hubieras
él / ella / Ud. hubiera
nosotros hubiéramos
vosotros hubierais
ellos / ellas / Uds.   hubieran

 Conjugation 2 (used more in written language and in Spain)

yo hubiese
tú hubieses
él / ella / Ud. hubiese
nosotros hubiésemos
vosotros hubieseis
ellos / ellas / Uds.   hubiesen

Note that in El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo, only the impersonal third person form hubiera/hubiese is ever used on its own.

Read and listen to these examples:

No creía que hubiera elecciones tan pronto.I didn't think that there were elections so soon.

Tal vez no hubiera tantos problemas.Maybe there were not so many problems.

Ojalá hubiera paz en el mundo.I wish there were peace in the world.

Quizás hubiese actores muy guapos en la ciudad.Maybe there were some very handsome actors in the city.

Tal vez no hubiese un huracán tan fuerte.Maybe there wasn't such a strong hurricane.

Sería mejor que hubiese menos gente en el concierto.It would be better if there were less people at the concert.

The full set of six forms is used with past participles of a second verb to form another tense: El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo. For example:

Se comportaba como si hubiese bebido demasiado.He was behaving as if he had drunk too much.

Read more about El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo.

See also:

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Examples and resources

Tal vez no hubiera tantos problemas.Maybe there were not so many problems.
No creía que hubiera elecciones tan pronto.I didn't think that there were elections so soon.
Ojalá hubiera paz en el mundo.I wish there were peace in the world.
Quizás hubiese actores muy guapos en la ciudad.Maybe there were some very handsome actors in the city.
Sería mejor que hubiese menos gente en el concierto.It would be better if there were less people at the concert.
Tal vez no hubiese un huracán tan fuerte.Maybe there wasn't such a strong hurricane.
Se comportaba como si hubiese bebido demasiado.He was behaving as if he had drunk too much.
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