# Conditional perfect
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{{Short description|Grammatical construction}}
The '''conditional perfect''' is a [grammatical](/source/grammar) construction that combines the [conditional mood](/source/conditional_mood) with [perfect aspect](/source/perfect_aspect). A typical example is the English ''would have written''.[Gail Stein, ''Webster's New World Spanish Grammar Handbook'', John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Part VII.] The conditional perfect is used to refer to a hypothetical, usually counterfactual, event or circumstance placed in the past, contingent on some other circumstance (again normally counterfactual, and also usually placed in the past). Like the [present conditional](/source/present_conditional) (a form like ''would write''), the conditional perfect typically appears in the ''apodosis'' (the main clause, expressing the consequent) in a [conditional sentence](/source/conditional_sentence).
==English==
In [English](/source/English_grammar), the conditional perfect is formed using ''would have'' together with the [past participle](/source/past_participle) of the main verb. The auxiliary ''would'' marks the [conditional mood](/source/conditional_mood) (it is occasionally replaced by ''should'' in the first person; see [''shall'' and ''will''](/source/shall_and_will)), while the auxiliary ''have'' (used in combination with the past participle) marks the [perfect aspect](/source/perfect_aspect) (prior occurrence of the event in question). The conditional perfect is used chiefly in the main clause (apodosis) of "third conditional" (or sometimes "mixed conditional") sentences, as described under English conditional sentences. Examples:
* You '''would have got[ten]''' more money if you had worked harder.
* If we had run faster, we '''would have arrived''' earlier.
* If I were a woman, I '''would have entered''' the contest.
It is also possible for the auxiliary ''would'' to be replaced by the [modals](/source/English_modal_verbs) ''should'', ''could'' or ''might'' to express appropriate [modality](/source/linguistic_modality) in addition to conditionality.
Sometimes, in (chiefly American English) informal speech, the ''would have'' construction appears in the ''if''-clause as well ("If we would have run faster, we would have arrived earlier"), but this is considered incorrect in formal speech and writing (see {{slink|English conditional sentences|Use of will and would in condition clauses}}).
English also has a conditional perfect progressive (''would have been writing''). For more details on the usage of this and of the ordinary conditional perfect, see the relevant sections of the article [Uses of English verb forms](/source/Uses_of_English_verb_forms).
==Other languages==
[French](/source/French_language) expresses past [counterfactual conditional](/source/counterfactual_conditional) sentences in exactly the same way as English does: the ''if'' clause uses the ''had'' + past participle ([pluperfect](/source/pluperfect)) form, while the ''then'' clause uses the ''would have'' + past participle form, where the equivalent of ''would have'' is the conditional of the auxiliary (''avoir'' or ''être'') used in all [perfect](/source/perfect_(grammar)) constructions for the verb in question. Example:
* ''Si on l'avait su [pluperfect indicative], on '''aurait pu''' [conditional perfect] l'empêcher.''
:"If we had known it [pluperfect subjunctive], we '''would have been able''' [conditional perfect] to prevent it."
[Spanish](/source/Spanish_language) forms the conditional perfect on similar principles, e.g. ''yo te '''habría dicho''' todo'' ("I would have told you everything").