I. Theory
The past conditional, the past form of the Subjunctive II, is used to convey actions that would have occurred in the past - as the conditional past does in English. In English, however, we form this tense by inserting the verb have between the modal would and the past participle (eg. I would have gone, I would have seen, etc.).In German, the modal verb würden is not used in this construction, but rather the auxiliary verb (sein or haben) uses its own Subjunctive II form and is then combined with a past participle.
| Ich wäre mitgekommen, wenn du mich gefragt hättest. I would have come along, if you had asked me. Wenn Sie uns geholfen hätten, hätten wir eine Lösung gefunden. If you had helped us, we would have found a solution. So etwas hätte ich nie gesagt! I would have never said such a thing! |
II. Clauses
As you can see in the examples above, the past conditional in English is often paired with a past perfect (you had asked, you had helped, etc.). In German, a second past conditional clause is found here if the clause conveys an event in the past. If the clause conveys conditional information in the present, the present conditional is used.| Wenn es nicht regnen würde, würden wir ein Picknick haben. If it weren’t raining, we would have a picnic (present conditional). Wenn es nicht geregnet hätte, hätten wir ein Picknick gehabt. If it hadn’t rained, we would have had a picnic (past conditional). Wenn mein Großvater noch arbeiten würde, würden wir bei diesem Projekt zusammenarbeiten. If my grandfather still worked, we would collaborate on this project (present conditional). Wenn mein Großvater noch gearbeitet hätte, hätten wir bei diesem Projekt zusammengearbeitet. If my grandfather had still been working, we would have collaborated on the project (past conditional). |
III. The Past Conditional of Modals
In German, the past conditional is formed differently when it comes to modal verbs. In English, the conditional form of the modal is used along with have (I could have gone, I should have seen, etc.). In German, the modal and the main verb are both found at the end of the clause as infinitives. The conditional component is conveyed here with the auxiliary verb hätten.| Ich dürfte zur Party gehen. I would be allowed to go to the party (present conditional). Ich hätte zur Party gehen dürfen. I would have been allowed to go the party (past conditional). Du solltest sie einladen. You should invite her (present conditional). Du hättest sie einladen sollen. You should have invited her (past conditional). |