habría
/abɾia/from spelling rules
In Spanish, habría is the way to say "would have".
habría is used to express the conditional perfect, describing an action that would have occurred in the past under certain conditions. In this specific context, it functions as an auxiliary verb to express "would have".
Which one should you use?
While habría is the conditional form of the verb haber (which can mean "to have" or "to exist"), in this specific construction it serves as an auxiliary verb to form the conditional perfect.
How does it change in a sentence?
To form the phrase "would have [verb]", you must use the conjugated form of habría followed by a single past participle, such as in the construction habría dicho. The auxiliary verb must be conjugated to match the subject in person and number, using forms such as habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais or habrían.
How do you pronounce it?
/abɾia/
Did you know?
- In colloquial spoken Spanish, especially in Latin America, speakers frequently use hubiera in place of habría to express 'would have', even though they are technically different moods.
- Spanish has two different verbs for 'to have', meaning habría cannot be used if you are talking about possessing an object, which requires the verb tener.
- In some dialects, the difference between using habría and hubiera can signal a speaker's level of formality or their specific regional identity.
Examples in context
- Él habría tenido éxito.He would have succeeded.This sentence shows how to use habría to indicate someone would have succeeded.Tatoeba #1307227 by marcelostockle, translation #300306 by Eldad
- Yo habría dicho lo mismo.I would have said the same thing.This sentence demonstrates using habría to say someone would have said the same thing.Tatoeba #3246104 by Shishir, translation #3246197 by carlosalberto
- Yo habría sido arrogante.I would have gotten conceited.This sentence uses habría to describe how someone would have been conceited.Tatoeba #6029911 by albrusgher, translation #1636221 by ari_diary
- Habría comprado el libro si hubiera tenido tiempoI would have bought the book if I had had time
- Hubiera tenido un mejor resultado si hubiera trabajado másI would have had a better result if I had worked more
- Habrías sido más exitoso si hubieras seguido tus sueñosYou would have been more successful if you had followed your dreams
- Habríamos podido completar el proyecto a tiempo si nos hubieran proporcionado los recursos necesariosWe would have been able to complete the project on time if they had provided us with the necessary resources
- Habría ido contigo al concierto, pero no tenía dineroI would have gone to the concert with you, but I didn't have money
- Si me lo hubieras pedido, te lo habría prestadoIf you had asked me, I would have lent it to you
- Hubiera tenido más tiempo, pero tuve que trabajarI would have had more time, but I had to work
- Habría estudiado más si hubiera sabido que había un examenI would have studied more if I had known there was a test
- Me arrepiento de no haber llegado a tiempo. Habría visto el amanecer en la playaI regret not having arrived on time, I would have seen the sunrise at the beach
- Ella habría venido si le hubieran invitadoShe would have come if they had invited her
- 103 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are discussing a missed opportunity to visit a museum.
- JavierHabría ido al museo si hubiera tenido tiempo.I would have gone to the museum if I had had time.
- LucíaYo también habría ido contigo.I would have gone with you too.
- JavierEs una lástima que no pudiéramos ir.It's a shame we couldn't go.
- LucíaPodemos planearlo para la próxima semana.We can plan it for next week.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
