The Present Perfect Indicative
(El presente perfecto de indicativo
The past participle used as a verb
The present perfect in English and Spanish is considered a
compound tense because its forms require two verbs. In English,
the present perfect is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary
verb to have + past participle. In Spanish, the present perfect is
formed with the present tense of the verb haber + past participle.
to have
Past participle
I have
yo
you have
tú
he, she has, you have taken él, ella, Ud.
eaten nosotros/as
we have
lived
you (pl.) have
vosotros/as
ellos/as, Uds.
they, you (pl.) have
haber Past participle
he
has
ha
hemos
habéis
han
tomado
comido
vivido
The past participle used as a verb
In general, the present perfect is used to refer to a past action that is perceived as
having some bearing on the present.
¿Ya has usado la impresora?
Have you already used the printer?
Estoy buscando el cajero automático. ¿Lo
has visto?
I’m looking for the automatic teller. Have
you seen it?
The past participle used as a verb
The auxiliary verb haber agrees with the subject of the sentence. The past participle,
however, is invariable when used in the perfect tense. It always ends in o.
Mi jefe me ha dado un teléfono celular muy
bueno.
My boss has given me a very good cell phone.
Marisa ha preparado la hoja electrónica.
Marisa has prepared the spreadsheet.
The past participle used as a verb
The auxiliary verb haber and the past participle cannot be separated by another word.
Object pronouns and negative words are always placed before haber.
No la he preparado.
I haven’t prepared it.
¿La has abierto?
Have you opened it?
The past participle used as a verb
It is important to remember that the present perfect in English is often contracted,
particularly in everyday speech. Such contractions do not exist in Spanish.
Has leído el informe, ¿verdad?
You’ve read the report, right?
Sí, lo he leído varias veces.
Yes, I’ve read it several times.
The past participle used as a verb
The verb haber is not interchangeable with tener. Haber means to have only when used
as an auxiliary verb with the past participle. Tener means to have or to own in the sense of
possession.
Julia tiene muchos amigos en esa empresa.
Julia has many friends in that company.
¿Has tenido experiencia en hacer diseños?
Have you had experience in doing designs?
To have just . . .
The present tense of the verb acabar, to finish, is
used with de + infinitive in order to describe events
that have just happened.
Acabamos de ver la videoconferencia.
We have just seen the videoconference.
Acaban de borrar el archivo.
They have just erased the file.
The past participle used as an adjective
In both English and Spanish, the past participle may be used as an adjective to modify
a noun. The Spanish past participle used as an adjective agrees in number and gender
with the noun it modifies.
Vimos las conferencias grabadas por nuestro
supervisor.
We saw the conferences recorded by our
supervisor.
Hay muchos programas escritos en Visual
Basic.
There are many programs written in Visual
Basic.
The past participle used as an adjective
The verb estar may be used with the past participle to describe a state or condition
resulting from a previous action. When used with estar, the past participle is an
adjective and agrees in number and gender with the noun it modifies.
El libro está cerrado.
La puerta está cerrada.
Los escritorios están vendidos.
Las computadoras están vendidas.
FIN