¿Qué hubiera pasado si no lo hubiera hecho?

Question

What is the best way to say: "What would have happened if I hadn't done it?"

"¿Qué hubiera pasado si no lo hubiera hecho?" This gets over 5,000 Google search hits.

"¿Qué habría pasado si no lo hubiera hecho?" This gets 5 hits, which should answer my question but I thought that "habría" was the correct way to say "would have".

Or how about: "If I had known I wouldn't have done it."

"Si hubiera sabido no lo hubiera hecho." (6 hits)

"Si hubiera sabido no lo habría hecho." (7 hits)

Is this just a common grammatical error that Spanish speakers make or are both ways correct or is there some subtle difference between the two?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Yes, that is more or less it, we all make this mistake, jeje.

It should be

hubiera comido - habría vomitado

for example. That is the correct sequence, however, the hubiera - hubiera sequence is correct too.

Answer 2

That's interesting. I would certainly have chosen habría myself so that is puzzling.

Very puzzling. I would have said "hubiera" because that's what I've heard but I think "habría" is textbook correct. - alba3, JUN 21, 2010