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Translation doubt Hi guys, a doubt came to me when I was watching a movie. I'm not sure the difference between this two sentences: "I would have thought I was going to die" (Habría pensado que iba a morir) "I had thought I was going to die" (hubiera pensado que iba a morir) Are ok these translations? In this case, can anyone explain in which contexts I should use them? Thanks

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Translation doubt

Hi guys, a doubt came to me when I was watching a movie. I'm not sure the difference between this these two sentences:

"I would have thought I was going to die" (Habría pensado que iba a morir)

"I had thought I was going to die" (hubiera pensado que iba a morir)

Are ok these translations OK? In this case, can anyone explain in which contexts I should use them?

Thanks

 

I had thought = yo había pensado (The past perfect tense (e.g., había viajado) views an action or state as having occurred —and been completed— at a time prior to another past action, state or time.)


I'm not a native Spanish speaker, but I think that "hubiera pensado que iba a morir" would be translated as "I would have thought I was going to die" (as a stand alone sentence) unless it is part of a dependent clause such as "Me sorprendió que (usted) hubiera pensado que iba a morir" which would then be translated "I was surprised that you had thought you were going to die".  In this case el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo is also  used to indicate an action or state that occurred prior to something in the past.


Maybe a bilingual native speaker can clarify this further.


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That's brilliant! Thank you very much for taking that time to help me. It's very appreciated :) I think I must refresh my English grammar, but you explanation is pretty clear anyway.
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My spanish isn't good enough to comment on your translation, but I can say how we would use the English sentences you've put there. 1. "I would have thought I was going to die" - the "would have" makes it conditional on something else happening, eg "IF the brakes on the car had failed THEN I would have thought I was going to die". 2. "I had thought I was going to die" - in this case you actually did think you were going to die. So the first is hypothetical, in the second the action (in this case your thought) actually happened. To use a slightly easier example: 1. I would have taken my umbrella 2. I had taken my umbrella In the first you are talking about a time in the past where you didn't take your umbrella, but if something else had happened (eg if it had rained) then you would have taken it. In the second example, you did take your umbrella. So back to your example, in #1 you never actually thought you were going to die but in #2 you had that thought. Hope that helps! Janine

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