habría
/abɾia/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "I would have" is translated as habría.
The phrase habría is a conditional expression used to describe an action that would have happened in the past under different circumstances.
Which one should you use?
Use habría to express hypothetical past situations. In contrast, use había (the imperfect form) when you are describing past states or ongoing actions.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form habría is the first-person singular conditional of the auxiliary verb haber.
How do you pronounce it?
/abɾia/
Did you know?
- The verb haber used in habría is a distant relative of the English verb 'have', yet in Spanish, it functions primarily as an auxiliary to build complex tenses rather than to show possession.
- If you say habría followed by a noun instead of a verb, you are not saying 'I would have' but are instead saying 'there would be'.
- While habría is the standard conditional, in many spoken dialects of Spain and Latin America, speakers often replace it with hubiera in casual conversation, even when the grammar rules technically call for the conditional.
Examples in context
- Yo habría dicho lo mismo.I would have said the same thing.This sentence is useful for practicing how to say one would have said something.Tatoeba #3246104 by Shishir, translation #3246197 by carlosalberto
- Yo habría sido arrogante.I would have gotten conceited.This sentence shows how to express that one would have been a certain way.Tatoeba #6029911 by albrusgher, translation #1636221 by ari_diary
- Esto es lo que yo habría dicho.This is what I would have said.This sentence demonstrates how to identify what one would have said.Tatoeba #2552 by Shishir, translation #1346 by Zifre
- Habría tenido la oportunidad de viajar más.I would have had the opportunity to travel more.
- Habría tenido una mejor comprensión del tema.I would have had a better understanding of the topic.
- Si hubiera tenido más dinero, habría comprado ese libro.If I had had more money, I would have bought that book.
- Hubiera tenido mejores resultados si hubiera estudiado más.I would have had better results if I had studied more.
- 48 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are talking about a missed party.
- JavierNo pude ir a la fiesta ayer.I couldn't go to the party yesterday.
- LucíaYo habría ido si me hubieras avisado.I would have gone if you had told me.
- JavierLo siento, olvidé llamar a todos.I'm sorry, I forgot to call everyone.
- LucíaNo pasa nada, Lucía lo entiende.It's okay, Lucía understands.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
