Thread: "should have"???

Hi, I am very confused about something... I have studied spanish for a while now and I dont understand how to say "should have" as in "I should have brought the keys" The native speakers say "yo hubiera traido las llaves" but it doesnt make sense to me, because "hubiera" means "I would have" along with "habria" whats the difference between "hubiera" and "habria" and how do you know how to seperate the two? For example "I wouldn't have been late but there was traffic" how would you tranlate that..

Originally Posted by nickdisipio

Hi, I am very confused about something... I have studied spanish for a while now and I dont understand how to say "should have" as in "I should have brought the keys" The native speakers say "yo hubiera traido las llaves"

Hi Nick:

The correct translation for this sentence would be:

Debería haber traído las llaves.

Debería: should

For example "I wouldn't have been late but there was traffic" how would you translate that..

No hubiera llegado tarde pero había mucho tráfico.

Originally Posted by lauracipolla

But I repeat, it's a common mistake for many Spanish speakers to use "hubiera" (subjuntivo) both in the condition-clause and in the consequence-clause...

I think the common mistake in spanish is to use the conditional in both sentences, ex. Si podría lo haría, where it should be "Si pudiera o pudiese lo haría". Unfortunatly, it's very common and accepted.

I agree, Mem. Those you mention are very typical! They're the "probable"-type conditional sentences (subjunctive in the condition [= past form in English] + conditional in the consequence-clause).

I should have mentioned before that the "impossible" conditional sentences take perfect forms for subjunctive + conditional (hubiera ido/venido, etc. + habría ido/venido, etc)

In any case, I agree it's a disgrace so many people make that mistake but worse that it's SOOOOOOOO accepted. :-(

I also wanted to mention to "our student" vicente ( ) and nick, that in spain , in the north, it is actually a habit to use habría for everything:

Me imagino que yo lo habría sabido igual.

Creo que yo no habría ido.

Mirad esta anécdota simpática:

¿Es correcto habría? En la zona Norte de España se utiliza comúnmente esta forma en lugar de las otras dos. Yo también lo hago, a veces, porque nací en esa zona. Incorrecta, pero existe y se usa. Es un regionalismo.
Un día de los muchos, mi madre que es riojana de Haro dijo : "Si yo sería catalana... " Mi mujer y yo nos echamos a reir cariñosamente y ella muy seria dijo: " ¿De qué os reís? ¿Creéis que no lo sé? Fuera, fuese o sería. "
Así que ya ves que, a pesar de ser diferentes tiempos verbales, los hablantes de esa zona los consideran igual.

thanks so much, your answers are very helpfull, I have been using "hubiera" to say "should have" for a while just from asking native speakers. For example, I asked my mexican friend how to say "i should have brought the key's" and he told me, "yo hubiera traido las llaves". Is it possible he just thought I asked him "I WOULD have brought the keys" ?? I have been using "hubiera" for a year now for "should have" like when I play domino's with girlfriends family which are Puerto Rican's, I would say "tu no hubieras puesto" to my domino partner for "you shouldnt have put that" what was I actually saying to him?

Originally Posted by nickdisipio

"i should have brought the key's" and he told me, "yo hubiera traido las llaves". Is it possible he just thought I asked him "I WOULD have brought the keys" ??

I don't know if your friend's English is very proficient But he should have said:

Debería haber traído mis llaves.

Hubiera tríado las llaves: I would have brought the keys.

Probably he meant:

si solo hubiera traído las llaves!!!

If only I had brought the keys...!!

I have been using "hubiera" for a year now for "should have" like when I play domino's with girlfriends family which are Puerto Rican's, I would say "tu no hubieras puesto" to my domino partner for "you shouldnt have put that" what was I actually saying to him?

The thing with friends: they think if they correct you all the time you will be annoyed or sad. So they don't !!

You actually used would , not should:

hubieras puesto: would have put

Tú no hubieras puesto esto: you wouldn't have put this!

I am sure your partner understood all right, but really, the sentence was quite wrong.

You must use

should = debería

You should put that: Deberías poner esto

You should have put that: deberías haber puesto esto

If you are referring to a action in the past, you must use the compound form. (like in your example)

Thanks for clearing that up!!!