What is the difference between "Hubiera" and "Habría"?

Question

I was taught that the Spanish conditional tense translates into English as would and is formed, for regular verbs at least, by adding ía to the infinitive. So I would translate the sentence:

Y eso es exactamente lo que su padre habría hecho.

as

And that is exactly what your father would have done.

And I was taught that 'hubiera' is the imperfect subjunctive conjugation of 'haber'. So I would translate the sentence:

Como si la hidra no hubiera regenerado sus múltiples cabezas

as

As if the hydra had not regenerated it's multiple heads.

But for the sentence

Sí, ese hubiera sido un buen momento para discutir esto'

the translation was listed as:

Yeah, that would've been a good time to discuss this.

I'm working towards the DELE B2 exam. My question is: how do I decide whether to use 'habría' or 'hubiera' to mean 'would have'?

Answer 1

As can be read here, "hubiera" and "habría" (in their various person/number forms) followed by a past participle are always interchangeable except in the dependent clause (protasis) of conditional sentences, where only "hubiera" is the correct form (although many people incorrectly use "habría"):

• Sí, ese hubiera sido un buen momento para discutir esto = Sí, ese habría sido un buen momento para discutir esto (notice that the the main clause - apodosis - of the conditional sentence is tacit, for example: Ese hubiera/habría sido un buen momento para discutir esto si hubiéramos - NOT habríamos - tenido la voluntad de hacerlo)

• Eso es exactamente lo que su padre habría hecho (si hubiera tenido la posibilidad) = Eso es exactamente lo que su padre hubiera hecho (si hubiera tenido la posibilidad)

From a pragmatic rather than strictly grammatical perspective, combining "habría" in the apodosis with "hubiera" in the protasis may sound more euphonic -- why use "hubiera" in both parts of the sentence, which may sound cacophonic, if there is the alternative "habría" to be used in the apodosis?

In the other example, there is a "si" that prevents us from using "habría":

• Como si la hidra no hubiera regenerado sus múltiples cabezas...

Answer 2

sometimes you can use them as synonyms and sometimes you can´t. So for example "Me hubiera/habria gustado ir a la fiesta" is a good example when they are synonyms, but in the case "Estimo que habría unos 50 paquetes" you can´t use hubieran. Another example is th e conditional, "Si hubieran venido a tiempo", in this case you can´t use habrian.

Answer 3

Take this example: If I (had worked) hard in the past, I ((would have worked)) less today.

It should be translated as follows: Si (hubiera trabajado) duro en el pasado, yo ((habría trabajado)) menos hoy.

However, it is not uncommon to hear (habría) replaced with (hubiera) especially in informal conversation, that is:

Si (hubiera trabajado) duro en el pasado, yo ((hubiera trabajado)) menos hoy.

According to the RAE, this sentence is grammatically acceptable.

Answer 4

Habría
• Conditional Tense: “Habría” is used in the conditional tense.
• Usage: It is used to express what someone would do under certain conditions or what would happen in a hypothetical situation.
• Example: “Yo habría ido a la fiesta si hubiera sabido.” (I would have gone to the party if I had known.)

Hubiera
• Past Subjunctive Tense: “Hubiera” is used in the past subjunctive tense.
• Usage: It is often used in conditional sentences to express hypothetical situations that did not happen in the past.
• Example: “Si hubiera tenido más tiempo, habría terminado el proyecto.” (If I had had more time, I would have finished the project.)

Habría/hubiera/hubiese
They can be interchanged in their composed forms in conditional sentences, but only in the part that expresses the result of the condition:
• Example: “Si hubiera tenido más tiempo, habría/hubiera/hubiese/ terminado el proyecto.” (If I had had more time, I would have finished the project.)
As simple tenses, they are not interchangeable.

In Summary:
• Use “habría” for the conditional tense to express what would happen.
• Use “hubiera” for the past subjunctive tense to express hypothetical situations that did not occur.