Download Spanish: The Perfect Tenses and more Exams Spanish in PDF only on Docsity! Spanish: The Perfect Tenses Provided by the Academic Center for Excellence 1 Reviewed July 2008 Spanish: The Perfect Tenses The present perfect is a verb tense comprised of two parts: the auxiliary verb has/have and the past participle. It indicates that an action was completed at some point in the past, and the action may continue into the present. In English, using the present perfect is equivalent to saying that someone has done something. The picture below demonstrates how the present perfect refers to actions completed in the past as well as past actions that may continue into the present. For example, Peter has studied Spanish (and may still be doing it now). Conjugating the Present Perfect In Spanish, the present-tense conjugations of the verb haber (not tener) form the present perfect. yo he tú has él/ella/Ud. ha nosotros/as hemos vosotros/as habéis ellos/ellas/Uds. han Provided by the Academic Center for Excellence 2 Spanish: The Perfect Tenses The past participle is used immediately following the verb haber. Note that verbs ending in -ar change to -ado, while -er and -ir verbs both change to –ido. Lazaro ha cenado con su madre. Lazaro has eaten dinner with his mother. He salido de mi casa. I have left my house. No hemos podido encontrar nuestro gato. We haven’t been able to find our cat. However, as with all conjugations, there are exceptions to the rules. Here are some of the most common irregular past participles: Note: The present perfect of hay is ha habido. Pablo ha escrito muchos poemas. Pablo has written many poems. Los hermanos han hecho su tarea. The brothers have done their homework. hacer hecho abrir abierto poner puesto escribir escrito romper roto cubrir cubierto ver visto decir dicho volver vuelto morir muerto Infinitive Stem Ending Past Participle Hablar Habl ado Hablado Comer Com ido Comido Vivir Viv ido Vivido
