would have vs had

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

I have problems with this… because I’m a native spanish-speaker and I do not even see the difference between their equivalents in spanish (which makes me think that I’ve been using it wrong in spanish too). So, I don’t really know how to use them. For example:

Should I use: If you would have made the dinner, I would not have bought food.
Or: If you had made the dinner, I would not have bought food.

Or is “had” in both clauses?..

P.D: can I use either one in the second clause?

2

b[/b] If you would have made the dinner, I would not have bought food.- This is heard from careless native speakers, but ‘would’ should not appear in the ‘if’ clause.

If you had made the dinner, I would not have bought food.- This is correct 3rd Conditional.

Or is “had” in both clauses?– No.

Can I use either one in the second clause?-- No.

3

Oh ok, got it!.. So in the if clause I should use had… But what do you mean with “3rd conditional” lol
Thank you by the way :smiley: