29.1 The Perfect Tenses
The perfect tenses refer to actions that have been completed before a given point in time.
The present perfect
allows us to discuss an action completed before the present.
The past perfect
allows us to discuss an action completed before some point in the past.
The future perfect
allows us to discuss an action completed before some point in the future.
There are more perfect tenses, but we'll cover those in the next lesson. In this lesson we'll just be covering the present perfect. Once you have the present perfect down, the rest of the perfect tenses will be easy to learn.
29.2 Formation of the Perfect Tenses
Good news, VerbMasters! The perfect tenses in Spanish look and function a lot like they do in English.
They are made up of two verbs:
- A conjugated form of haber (to have [as a helping verb])
- and the past participle of the action verb.
Haber tells us who does the action and when it happens, and the past participle tells us what the action is.
If you've completed the practice from all previous lessons, then you've already learned to conjugate haber in the present tense in order to form the present perfect tense! The only new formation you need to learn is the past participle. So let's dig in!
29.3 Past Participles in English
Here are some examples of past participles in English:
talk → talked
eat → eaten
live → lived
As you can see, English has past participles that are formed regularly by adding -ed (talked, lived) and irregularly (eaten). Spanish also has regular and irregular past participles. Let's start with the regulars.
29.4 Regular Past Participles in Spanish
Finding regular past participle forms is a simple two step process:
29.5 Irregular Past Participles in Spanish
In Spanish, the number of irregular past participles is fairly small (much smaller than the number of English irregulars). These are the most common ones:
| Infinitive | Past Participle |
|---|---|
| escribir (to write) | escrito |
| hacer (to do) | hecho |
| decir (to say) | dicho |
| poner (to put, to set) | puesto |
| suponer (to suppose) | supuesto |
| ver (to see) | visto |
| volver (to return) | vuelto |
| creer (to believe) | creído |
| morir (to die) | muerto |
| traer (to bring) | traído |
29.6 Using the Present Perfect
OK! Now that we know what the past participle is, it's time to put it to use with a perfect tense. Let's start with the present perfect.
The Present Perfect
The present perfect indicates that a completed past action has ongoing relevance or impact in the present.
To form the present perfect, follow these three steps:
29.7 Using the Present Perfect in Real Life
Below are some examples of how you can use the present perfect in the real world:
Hace mucho tiempo que no he hablado con el delfín.
It's been a long time since I have talked with the dolphin.
¿Te has comido todo el helado?
Have you eaten all the gelato?
Hemos vivido en esta cueva durante demasiado tiempo.
We have lived in this cave for too long.
Practice Time!
Master these verb conjugations from Lesson 29