The Perfect Tense in Spanish
What is it /does it mean ?
• It is used in the same way as in English , when
you want to say “I have done”, rather than “I did”
• You do not have a specific time reference (as
opposed to the preterite tense), in most cases for
the recent past , and often for questions and
answers.
• Eg “have you done your homework?” ,”have you
visited Spain ?” (ever , in your life , no specific
time , at some time in your life)
• Answer “yes, I have visited Spain” , “No , I have
not done my homework”(all in Perfect tense ?)
How is it formed ?
• TWO words :
• WORD ONE (have):
• for “HAVE” , use present tense of “HABER” (NOT
tener )
• I have –
• You have-he/she/Usted has –
• We have
• You (plural /vosotros) have
• They have (also ustedes)
Word TWO
PAST PARTICIPLE
• As in English eg spoken , written , said , seen etc
(no good on its own except as an adjective in
some cases)
REGULAR ONES :
• -AR verbs –add –ADO to the stem
Eg hablar = HABLADO
• -ER and -IR verbs (will they be the same ??)
ADD –IDO to the stem
Eg-comer =COMIDO
Eg Vivir =VIVIDO
PUT THE TWO TOGETHER TO GET
PERFECT TENSE
•
•
•
•
•
I have spoken =
I have eaten =
I have lived =
IMPORTANTE :
Does the ending of the past participle ever
vary its spelling in the perfect tense when
used with haber ?Or is it always –ado or –ido ?
Do you always use HABER as the
auxiliary verb ?
• Which of the two words counts as the verb
when you are using a pronoun ? Can you
separate them ?
• Eg Have you done it ?Where to put the “it”?
• ¿En español ?
IRREGULAR PAST PARTICIPLES
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Abrir
Cubrir
Descubrir
Decir
Volver
Devolver
Disolver
Resolver
Escribir
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Describir
Freír
Hacer
Satisfacer
Morir
Poner
Romper
Ver
Aqui están !
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Abierto
Cubierto
Descubierto
Dicho
Vuelto
Devuelto
Disuelto
escrito
İY la segunda parte !
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Descrito
Frito
Hecho
Satisfecho
Muerto
Puesto
Roto
visto
Para resumir :
• Perfect tense always has 2 words ( in grammar terms -called a “compound
“tense ie HAVE + DONE
• The first word is always the verb haber in the present tense
(He , has , ha , hemos , habéis ,han)
• The second word is called the past participle –ar=ado, er/ir=ido , check
whether it is regular using the list(above) print it out and learn it , then
check in your head !
• The past participle NEVER changes in the perfect tense. When It is used in
other ways , as an adjective ,it does agree with the noun, like all
adjectives.
• DON’T SPLIT THE HABER from its PAST PARTICIPLE , it will become very
sad and bad Spanish !
• It is used to say what HAS happened , in the recent past , with no time
reference , exactly as in English –easy to decide when to use it.
• WARNING ! It is NOT EVER used to say HOW LONG you have been doing
something (use desde hace , or llevar + gerund)