Difference between “supiera” and “hubiera sabido”

Question

As I understand “si supiera “ means, if I knew and “si hubiera sabido” means if I had known. But are these 2 not the same. Is there any real difference between them or simply when i want to use "would have" in the past i can use either method?

Gracias ?

Answer 1

si supiera expresses a present situation. si supiera hoy

hubiera sabido is for action that took place in the past (from the speaker´s point of view) si hubiera sabido ayer

Answer 2

Supiera expresses a current situation when used in the phrase "si supiera", but it can also express something in the past:

Ellos esperaban que supiera algo.

They hoped that I/he/she/you knew something.

link

Answer 3

Maybe researching what the specific conjugations are used for would give you a better understanding? I've definitely seen that the subjunctive translations to English can be pretty confusing (especially given that we don't have specific words dedicated to conveying doubt or influence).

Also, drawing a timeline has greatly helped me in the past (pun intended). If I could draw on here, I would...

Answer 4

If supiera expresses a present situation what about sabría then?

what is the difference between supiera and sabría?

*Si supiera* would be the equivalent of "if I knew", whereas "sabría" is the equivalent of "I would know" - bill1111, Sep 16, 2010