Futuro Perfecto VS. Condicional Perfecto
I know that "Futuro Perfecto" is " will have + p.p" (el futuro perfecto expresa probabilidad en el pasado) habré/habrás/habrá/habremos/habréis/habrán +p.p
and the condicional perfecto is would have +p.p (El condicional perfecto puede expresar probabilidad) habría/habrías/habría/habríamos/habríais/habrían + p.p
but I don´t know when to use el futuro perfecto or condicional perfecto like the sentence bellow : Juan: ¿Ha venido? María: ¿Habrá venido? / ¿Habría venido?
¿Quién (ponerse)______ mi abrigo ayer? why we use "Se habría puesto" ?
1 Answer
In the case with the example sentence provided, you would use conditional perfect. It is the past, so you would use this tense. Usually, conditional perfect is used in the past, and future perfect is used in the present.
Think of a timeline of actions.
Say I am reading a book right now and just found out the motive of the main character´s crime.
The recent past is that I have been reading the book. I was reading it, but it is still going on into the present. The present is finding out the motive.
"I have been reading it and now know why he killed her." would be translated to "Lo he leído y ahora sé porque él le mató."
Now, pretend we are in the week after I made that statement and are referring to it in the past. Remember when I was reading that book and found out that he killed her?
"Lo habría leído y supé porque él le mató." I had been reading it when I found out that he killed her.
I use the conditional perfect in the above sentence because that one action had been going on when all of a sudden I found out the murderer's motive.
That is one situation in which you would use conditional perfect: to describe an action that lead up to an action in the past.
¿Quién (ponerse)______ mi abrigo ayer? why we use "Se habría puesto" ?
Since the sentence you provide is in the past, you would use conditional perfect. How do you know it was in the past? Because there is the presence of "yesterday" since it said "ayer."
In the sentence you gave, it is using conditional perfect in a "wonder" sort of form. Like "Who could have put on my coat yesterday" or "I wonder who had put on my coat yesterday?"
Check out my response to this question about how to express wonder or probability in the future and past tenses, and you will find lots of information.
