PAST PARTICIPLE
The past participle is a specific form of the verb
that usually ends in ‐ado or ‐ido. This is not a
conjugated form because it does not change to
agree with the subject. The past participle will be
important in future lessons covering the perfect
tenses.
hablar - ar + ado = hablado
comer - er + ido = comido
vivir - ir + ido = vivido
THE PAST PARTICIPLE VERB FORM HAS TWO USES:
It may be used after a
conjugated form of the helping
verb, haber, as part of a
compound verb (a verb tense
that requires more than one
word to create). When used as
a verb, it always ends in ‐o
because it does not need to
agree with the subject in
number or gender. This type of
past participle will be called
the “pure past participle” to
indicate that you should not
mess with its ending.
It is the base form used to
create an adjective from a
verb. When used as an
adjective, the past
participle verb form must
be adapted to match the
gender and number of the
noun it modifies. Just about
every verb can be made
into an adjective by using
its past participle form.
USED AS ADJECTIVES
Most past participles can be used as adjectives. Like other
adjectives, they agree in gender and number with the nouns that
they modify.
 La puerta está cerrada.
The door is closed.
 Las puertas están cerradas.
The doors are closed.
 El restaurante está abierto.
The restaurant is open.
 Los restaurantes están abiertos.
The restaurants are open.
WITH THE VERB “SER” (PASSIVE VOICE)
The past participle can be combined with the verb
"ser" to express the passive voice. Use this
construction when an action is being described,
and introduce the doer of the action with the word
"por.“
La casa fue construida por los carpinteros.
The house was built by the carpenters.
La tienda es abierta todos los días por el dueño.
The store is opened every day by the owner.
REGULAR PAST PARTICIPLES
No verb undergoes a stem
change in its past participle
form, and all ‐ar verbs have
regular past participle forms.
To create the past participle
form of an ‐ar verb, replace
the ‐ar infinitive ending with
‐ado. In the examples in Table
, you may notice that the
English past participle
sometimes looks and sounds
just like the English past
tense but that the Spanish
past participle form is entirely
different from the past tense.
Infinitive
Cantar
Tomar
Cerrar
Jugar
Pensar
Past
Participle
Cantado
(sung)
Tomado
(taken)
Cerrado
(closed)
Jugado
(played)
Pensado
(thought)
PAST VS. PAST
When an English verb ends in ‐ed it may be in its past participle
form or in a past tense conjugation. There is only one way to
know for sure that it is a past participle rather than the past
tense: A past participle is always preceded by some form of the
helping verb “to have” (namely, have, has, or had). For example:
 Yesterday, I wrote (past tense).
 I have written (past participle).
 Last week, I called (past tense).
 I have called (past participle) many times.
 Yesterday, he did (past tense) his homework.
 He has done (past participle) it every day.
-ER & -IR ENDINGS
Past participle forms never look
like past tense forms in Spanish,
and there are not many verbs
with a past participle ending
other than ‐ ido or ‐ado. The
regular past participles of ‐er and
‐ir verbs are exactly alike (see
Table ). The few irregularly formed
past participles are listed in Table
. Any ‐ ir or ‐er verb that does not
appear on the irregular list has a
past participle formed by
removing the ‐er or ‐ir infinitive
ending and replacing it with ‐ido.
Remember that a Spanish past
participle form never undergoes a
stem change.
Infinitive
Past
Participle
Beber
Bebido
(drunk)
Prometer Prometido
(promised)
Preferir Preferido
(preferred)
Vestir
Vestido
(dressed)
IRREGULAR VERBS
Infinitive
Past Participle
Abrir
Abierto (opened)
Cubrir
Cubierto (covered)
Decir
Dicho (said)
Fréir
Frito (fried)
Hacer
Hecho (made)
Imprimir
Impreso (printed)
Morir
Muerto (dead)
Poner
Puesto (put)
Resolver
Resuelto
(resolved)
Romper
Roto (broken)
Ver
Visto (seen)
Volver
Vuelto (returned)
VERBS WITH PREFIXES
Table lists the 12 verbs with irregular past participle forms. Notice that most
irregulars end in ‐to or ‐cho.
Many of the above verbs are also used with prefixes. The following verbs have
the same past participle form (after the prefix) as the simple verbs above:
 bendecir (to bless)
 componer (to compose)
 descubrir (to discover)
 deshacer (to undo)
 devolver (to return something)
 disponer (to put)
 exponer (to expose)
 imponer (to impose)
 rehacer (to redo, to remake)
 revolver (to turn around, to turn over)
Note: Because satisfacer (to satisfy) is always formed like hacer, its past
participle is satisfecho.
STRESSED SYLLABLES (IRREGULARS)
To preserve the stress on the
correct syllable, any verb that
ends in ‐ aer, ‐eer, or ‐oír will
have an accent on the í of its
past participle ending (see
table).
The following verbs with
prefixes also have an accent on
the ‐ído of the past participle
form:
•
•
•
•
atraer (to attract)
distraer (to distract)
sonreír (to smile)
sustraer (to subtract)
Infinitive
Past
Participle
caer
Caído (fallen)
creer
Creído
(believed)
leer
Leído (read)
oír
Oído (heard)
reír
Reído
(laughed)
traer
Traído
(brought)
¡A PRACTICAR!
6.
2. La cuenta está _________.
The bill is paid. (pagar)
El edificio fue _________ por
los esclavos.
The building was built by the
slaves. (construir)
7.
3. El bebé está _________ en la
cuna.
The baby is sleeping in the crib.
(dormir)
La basura fue _________ por
el niño.
The trash was taken out by the
boy. (sacar)
8.
La niña tiene una pierna
_________.
The girl has a broken leg.
(romper)
9.
Las gatas están _________.
The cats are dead. (morir)
1. Las ventanas están _________.
The windows are broken.
(romper)
4. ¿Está _________ la puerta?
Is the door open? (abrir)
5. ¿Están los libros _________ en
español?
Are the books written in
Spanish? (escribir)
10. El cine está _________.
The movie theatre is closed.
(cerrar)
PAST PERFECT
•
The past perfect (el pluscuamperfecto), also known as the pluperfect, is a
combination of the past participle and the imperfect of the verb haber. The past
perfect describes an action in the past that happened before another action in
the past. There are three other perfect tenses in the indicative: present perfect,
preterit perfect, future perfect, and the conditional perfect.
•
The past perfect describes what a person "had" done before something else
happened in the past. Notice that tener is not used even though it means "to
have." It is formed by combining haber (conjugated to the imperfect tense) and
the past participle.
• I had studied.
• He had written a letter to María.
• We had been stranded for six days.
COMPOUND TENSE
• Because the past perfect is a compound tense, two
verbs are required: the main verb and the auxiliary
verb.
• I had studied.
(main verb: studied ; auxiliary verb: had)
• He had written a letter to María.
(main verb: written ; auxiliary verb: had)
• We had been stranded for six days.
(main verb: been ; auxiliary verb: had)
AUXILIARY VERB
• In Spanish, the past perfect tense is formed by using
the imperfect tense of the auxiliary verb "haber" with
the past participle. Haber is conjugated as follows:
había
habías
había
habíamos
habíais
habían
ADJECTIVE AGREEMENT
When you studied the past participle, you practiced using it as an
adjective. When used as an adjective, the past participle changes to
agree with the noun it modifies. However, when used in the perfect
tenses, the past participle never changes.
• Past participle used as an adjective:
La puerta está cerrada.
The door is closed.
• Past participle used in the past perfect tense:
Yo había cerrado la puerta.
I had closed the door.
• Past participle used as an adjective:
Las puertas están abiertas.
The doors are open.
• Past participle used in the past perfect tense:
Juan había abierto las puertas.
Juan had opened the doors.
LET'S LOOK MORE CAREFULLY AT THE LAST
EXAMPLE:
•
•
Juan había abierto las
puertas.
Juan had opened the
doors.
Notice that we use
"había" to agree with
"Juan". We do NOT use
"habían" to agree with
"puertas." The auxiliary
verb is conjugated for
the subject of the
sentence, not the
object.
Compare these two examples:
•
Juan había abierto las
puertas.
Juan had opened the
doors.
•
Juan y María habían
puesto mucho dinero en
el banco.
Juan and Maria had put a
lot of money in the bank.
•
In the first example, we
use "había" because the
subject of the sentence is
"Juan." In the second
example, we use "habían"
because the subject of the
sentence is "Juan y
María."
WHEN IS IT USED?
• The past perfect tense is used when a past action was
completed prior to another past action. Expressions such
as "ya", "antes", "nunca", "todavía" and "después" will often
appear in sentences where one action was completed
before another.
• Cuando llegaron los padres, los niños ya habían comido.
When the parents arrived, the children had already eaten.
• Yo había comido antes de llamarles.
I had eaten prior to calling them.
IMPLIED IDEA
• This idea of a past action being completed
before another past action need not always
be stated; it can be implied.
• Juan había cerrado la ventana antes de salir.
(stated)
Juan had closed the window before leaving.
• Juan había cerrado la ventana. (implied)
Juan had closed the window.
NEGATIVE SENTENCE
• The auxiliary verb and the past participle are never separated. To
make the sentence negative, add the word "no" before the
conjugated form of haber.
• (yo) No había vivido.
I had not lived.
• (tú) No habías vivido.
You had not lived.
• (él) No había vivido.
He had not lived.
• (nosotros) No habíamos vivido.
We had not lived.
• (vosotros) No habíais vivido.
You-all had not lived.
• (ellos) No habían vivido.
They had not lived.
OBJECT PRONOUNS
• Again, the auxiliary verb and the past participle are
never separated. Object pronouns are placed
immediately before the auxiliary verb.
• Pablo le había dado mucho dinero a su hermana.
Pablo had given a lot of money to his sister.
• To make this sentence negative, the word "no" is placed
before the indirect object pronoun (le).
• Pablo no le había dado mucho dinero a su hermana.
Pablo had not given a lot of money to his sister.
REFLEXIVE VERBS
• With reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun is placed immediatedly
before the auxiliary verb. Compare how the present perfect
differs from the simple present, when a reflexive verb is used.
• Me lavo las manos. (present)
I wash my hands.
• Me había lavado las manos. (past perfect)
I had washed my hands.
• To make this sentence negative, the word "no" is placed before
the reflexive pronoun (me).
• No me había lavado las manos.
I had not washed my hands.
QUESTIONS
Questions are formed as
follows. Note how the word
order is different than the
English equivalent.
• ¿Habían llegado ya las
chicas?
Had the girls arrived yet?
• ¿Habías probado ya el
postre?
Had you tried the dessert
yet?
•
•
Here are the same
questions in negative
form. Notice how the
auxiliary verb and the past
participle are not
separated.
¿No habían llegado ya las
chicas?
Hadn't the girls arrived yet?
• ¿No habías probado ya el
postre?
Hadn't you tried the dessert yet?
•
PAST PERFECT FORMULA
imperfect haber + past participle
•
•
Había visto ya a mi primo.
(I had already seen my cousin.)
Habías cantado en la fiesta cuando llegué.
(You had already sang at the party when I
arrived.)
Note: Notice that the auxilary verb (haber) and the past participle
are never separated. If object pronouns are present, they go
immediately before haber.
¡A PRACTICAR!
1. Cuando llegó Juan al restaurante sus padres ya __________ de comer.
When Juan arrived at the restaurant his parents had already finished
eating. (terminar)
2. El político ___________ bajar los impuestos. The politician had promised
to lower the taxes. (prometer)
3. Mi hermana arregló la sala cuando ________ la reunión. My sister
cleaned the living room when the meeting had ended. (terminar)
4. El padre ________ un buen trabajador. The father had been a good
worker. (ser)
5. Le dije al policía que el ladrón había __________ por la ventana. I told
the policeman that the thief had entered through the window. (entrar)