What you would have done

si hubiera sabido, habría…

if I had known, I would have…

Say these out loud

Why it works

The same if-sentence moved one step back: the past you cannot change.

Si + hubiera + participle, then habría + participle.

It is the shape of every regret and every excuse after the fact.

Why not si había sabido

si había sabido, no habría venido

if I had known, I would not have come

Había is the plain pluperfect and states a fact. After si, the unreal past needs hubiera.

In a full sentence

Si hubiera sabido del corte, habría trabajado desde casa.
If I had known about the outage, I would have worked from home.
It expresses regret about a past situation you cannot change.
Si hubiera sabido la hora, habría ido en metro.
If I had known the time, I would have gone by metro.
It imagines a different result in the past.
Si ella hubiera sabido cocinar, habría hecho la cena.
If she had known how to cook, she would have made dinner.
It shows what she would have done differently then.

5 gaps to fill, then 3 sentences from the English · say or type each one