Pretérito perfecto compuesto in Spanish

Lesson outline

1.What is the pretérito perfecto compuesto?
1.1.Conjugation of the auxiliary verb haber
1.2.Regularly conjugated past participle of verbs on -AR, -ER, -IR
1.3.The complete formation of the pretérito perfecto compuesto in Spanish (present perfect in English)
2.Irregularly conjugated participles of verbs
3.Uses of the pretérito perfecto compuesto
3.1.For an action or event initiated in the past that is continuing into the present.
3.2.An action or event ocurring in the past that does not refer to a concrete time.
3.3.An action completed at a recent moment in time.
4.Marker words of the pretérito perfecto compuesto
5.Example text
6.Translation
7.Exercises
7.1.Do you know how to use the Pretérito perfecto compuesto?
7.2.Exercise to practice the Pretérito perfecto compuesto
7.3.Complete the dialogues

What is the pretérito perfecto compuesto?

The present perfect (Spanish: pretérito perfecto compuesto) is one of several compound tenses used in Spanish and English. As in English, it is used to indicate that the action may be still going on. The pretérito perfecto compuesto has two parts:

the present tense of the auxiliary verb haber
the past participle (participio) of the verb

Pretérito perfecto compuesto = haber (presente) + participio

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Conjugation of the auxiliary verb haber

Personal pronouns	Auxiliary haber in present
yo	he
tú	has
él/ella/usted	ha
nosotros/-as	hemos
vosotros/-as	habéis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	han

Regularly conjugated past participle of verbs on -AR, -ER, -IR

The participle is derived from the infinitive of the verb. The endings (-ar / -er / -ir) are replaced by the participle endings (-ado / -ido / -ido).

Verbs in -ar	Verbs in -er	Verbs in -ir
The verb ending is replaced by -ADO	The verb ending is replaced by -IDO	The verb ending is replaced by -IDO
hablar → hablado viajar → viajado	comer → comido beber → bebido	vivir → vivido sentir→ sentido

The complete formation of the pretérito perfecto compuesto in Spanish (present perfect in English)

The complete formation of the pretérito perfecto compuesto is made with the conjugated form of the auxiliary verb haber in the present tense and the participle form of the verb:

Personal pronoun	Auxiliary haber in present	Participio
Yo Tu el/ella/usted nosotros/-as vosotros/-as ellos/ellas/ustedes	he has ha hemos habéis han	hablado comido vivido

Personal pronoun

Auxiliary haber in present

Participio

Yo

Tu

el/ella/usted

nosotros/-as

vosotros/-as

ellos/ellas/ustedes

he

has

ha

hemos

habéis

han

hablado

comido

vivido

Irregularly conjugated participles of verbs

There are a few irregular participles in Spanish. Here is a list of the most important exceptions:

Infinitive	Participle
abrir (to open)	abierto (opened)
cubrir (to cover)	cubierto (covered)
decir (to say)	dicho (said)
devolver (to return /to give back)	devuelto (returned)
disolver (to dissolve)	disuelto (dissolved)
escribir (to write)	escrito (written)
hacer (to do)	hecho (done)
ir (to go)	ido (gone)
morir (to die)	muerto (died)
poner (to put)	puesto (put)
romper (to break)	roto (broken)
ser (to be)	sido (been)
ver (to see)	visto (seen)
volver (to come back)	vuelto (come)

Uses of the pretérito perfecto compuesto

In English we use the perfect tense to talk about what has or hasn't happened today, this week, this year, or in our lives up to now. In Spanish we use it in a similar way.

For an action or event initiated in the past that is continuing into the present.

Hemos vivido aquí por más de 7 años. (We have lived here for over 7 years.)
Hemos celebrado las navidades en casa de mi abuela desde que nací. (We have celebrated Christmas in my grandma's house since I was born.)

An action or event ocurring in the past that does not refer to a concrete time.

Ana nos ha esperado en recepción. (Ana has waited for us in the reception area.)
Lucas nos ha acompañado. (Lucas has come with us.)

An action completed at a recent moment in time.

El correo ha llegado. (The mail has arrived.)
El tren ha salido. (The train has left.)

Marker words of the pretérito perfecto compuesto

We use the present perfect (pretérito perfecto compuesto) in Spanish with the following words:

Spanish	English	Examples
esta semana/ este año/ etc.	this week/ this year/ etc	Este año he tenido muchos constipados. This year I have caught a lot of colds.
hoy	today	Hoy he ido nadar. Today I went swimming.
todavia no	not yet	Todavia no he comido. I havent had lunch yet.
ya	already	Ya lo he visto. I have seen it already.
ultimamente	lately	Ultimamente he comido mucha fruta. I have eaten a lot of fruit lately.
hasta ahora	up to now/ so far/ until now/ to date	No me han dicho nada hasta ahora. I havent got any news so far.

Example text

Hoy ha sido un día especial. Es mi cumpleaños. No he ido a trabajar y me he levantado más tarde. He desayunado unas tostadas con tomate y he bebido un café con leche. Después, me he vestido y he salido de casa para comprar el periódico. Me he sentado en una terraza al sol y he leído el periódico.

Autora: Victoria Monera

Translation

Today was a special day. It's my birthday. I haven’t gone to work and I've gotten up later. I had some toast with tomato and I a coffee with milk for breakfast. Then I got dressed and left the house to buy the newspaper. I have sat on a terrace in the sun and have read the newspaper.