Future Perfect vs. Conditional Perfect: Speculating in Spanish

These two tenses are used to talk about actions in the past, but from a perspective of speculation or hypothesis.

The Main Rule: Future vs. Conditional Speculation

1. Future Perfect (Futuro Perfecto): 'Will have done' or 'Probably did'

This tense is formed with the future tense of haber + the past participle. (yo) habré, (tú) habrás, (él) habrá, (nosotros) habremos, (vosotros) habréis, (ellos) habrán + hablado, comido, vivido, etc.

It has two main uses:

• To talk about an action that will be completed by a specific time in the future.

  • Para las ocho, ya habremos cenado. (By eight o'clock, we will have already eaten dinner.)

• To express probability or conjecture about a recent past action. This is very common!

  • ¿Por qué no contesta? Se habrá quedado dormido. (Why isn't he answering? He has probably fallen asleep.)

2. Conditional Perfect (Condicional Perfecto): 'Would have done'

This tense is formed with the conditional tense of haber + the past participle. (yo) habría, (tú) habrías, (él) habría, (nosotros) habríamos, (vosotros) habríais, (ellos) habrían + hablado, comido, vivido, etc.

Its main use is:

• To talk about a hypothetical action in the past that would have happened, but didn't, often because a certain condition wasn't met.
  • Yo habría ido a la fiesta, pero estaba enfermo. (I would have gone to the party, but I was sick.)
  • Si me lo hubieras dicho, te habría ayudado. (If you had told me, I would have helped you.)

In short: Use the Future Perfect for things that will have happened or probably happened. Use the Conditional Perfect for things that would have happened but didn't.