The perfect tense - formation
There are two parts to the perfect tenseUsed to talk about something you have done or something that has happened recently. It is formed with the present tense of the verb haber followed by the past participle..
The first part is the present tenseA verb that describes an action that is happening now or that happens regularly, eg I eat breakfast every day. of the verb haber and the second part is the past participleWords that express a completed action. They usually end in '-ed' in English, eg watched, danced, visited.. The past participle usually ends in -ed in English, eg watched, played, visited. Examples of phrases in the perfect tense include he visitado (I have visited) and hemos comprado (we have bought).
The past participle for -ar verbs is formed by removing the -ar ending from the infinitiveThe form of the verb that has not been conjugated and is usually translated with 'to' in English, for example 'to play'. and adding -ado, eg:
estudiar (to study) 鈫 estudiado (studied)
The past participle for -er and -ir verbs is formed by removing the -er or -ir ending from the infinitive and adding --ido, eg.:
comer (to eat ) 鈫 comido (eaten)
vivir (to live) 鈫 vivido (lived)
| present tense of haber | |
| (yo) | he |
| (迟煤) | has |
| (茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲) | ha |
| (nosotros/as) | hemos |
| (vosotros/as) | 丑补产茅颈蝉 |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) | han |
| (yo) | |
| present tense of haber | he |
| (迟煤) | |
| present tense of haber | has |
| (茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲) | |
| present tense of haber | ha |
| (nosotros/as) | |
| present tense of haber | hemos |
| (vosotros/as) | |
| present tense of haber | 丑补产茅颈蝉 |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) | |
| present tense of haber | han |
+ past participle: visitado, hablado, bebido, etc.
Question
What is the past participle of these verbs?
- cambiar (to change)
- permitir (to allow)
- aprender (to learn)
- parar (to stop)
- cambiado (changed)
- permitido (allowed)
- aprendido (learned)
- parado (stopped)
Irregular past participles
Some verbs have irregularSomething that does not follow regular patterns and may have a different form. past participles. For example:
| infinitive | past participle |
| decir (to say) | dicho |
| describir (to describe) | descrito |
| escribir (to write) | escrito |
| hacer (to make/do) | hecho |
| poner (to put) | puesto |
| ver (to see) | visto |
| volver (to return) | vuelto |
| infinitive | decir (to say) |
|---|---|
| past participle | dicho |
| infinitive | describir (to describe) |
|---|---|
| past participle | descrito |
| infinitive | escribir (to write) |
|---|---|
| past participle | escrito |
| infinitive | hacer (to make/do) |
|---|---|
| past participle | hecho |
| infinitive | poner (to put) |
|---|---|
| past participle | puesto |
| infinitive | ver (to see) |
|---|---|
| past participle | visto |
| infinitive | volver (to return) |
|---|---|
| past participle | vuelto |
If the sentence is negative, the no goes before both parts of the perfect tense, eg no he hecho mi trabajo (I haven't done my work).
Question
Complete the sentences with the correct form of haber.
- Laura _______________ vivido en tres pa铆ses.
- Yo nunca _______________ probado la paella.
- Mi padre ________________ pagado la factura.
- Juanita y yo _______________ comido en ese restaurante.
- Laura ha vivido en tres paises (Laura has lived in three countries).
- Yo nunca he probado la paella (I have never tried paella).
- Mi padre ha pagado la factura (My father has paid the bill).
- Juanita y yo hemos comido en ese restaurante (Juanita and I have eaten in that restaurant).
Question
Complete the sentences with both parts of the perfect tense.
- Mis amigos __________ _______________ (ir) de compras.
- Arturo __________ _______________ (estar) aqu铆 por dos horas.
- Todav铆a yo no __________ _______________ (ver) la pel铆cula.
- Pedro __________ _______________ (volver) esta ma帽ana.
- Mis amigos han ido de compras (My friends have gone shopping).
- Arturo ha estado aqu铆 por dos horas (Arturo has been here for two hours).
- Todav铆a yo no he visto la pel铆cula (I still haven't seen the film).
- Pedro ha vuelto esta ma帽ana (Pedro has returned this morning).
More guides on this topic
- Revising Spanish grammar - nouns and articles - CCEA
- Revising Spanish grammar - adjectives - CCEA
- Revising adverbs in Spanish - CCEA
- Revising Spanish grammar - pronouns - CCEA
- Revising the present tense in Spanish - CCEA
- Revising Spanish grammar - preterite tense - CCEA
- Revising Spanish grammar - imperfect tense - CCEA
- Revising Spanish grammar - future tense - CCEA
- Revising Spanish grammar - conditional tense - CCEA
- Revising Spanish grammar - other tenses and verb forms - CCEA
- Revising Spanish grammar - negatives - CCEA