A2 · Elementary

The present perfect (pretérito perfecto)

The past tense for recent events with an effect on now: haber + past participle.

Formation: haber + past participle

You form the pretérito perfecto with the auxiliary haber (conjugated) + the past participle (participio) of the main verb. The participle never changes form (no masculine/feminine, no plural).

haber: he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han

Regular participles: -ar → -ado (hablar → hablado); -er/-ir → -ido (comer → comido, vivir → vivido).

haber+ participio (hablar)
yohehablado
túhashablado
él/ella/ustedhahablado
nosotros/ashemoshablado
vosotros/ashabéishablado
ellos/ellas/ustedeshanhablado

Examples

He hablado con el profesor esta mañana.I have spoken with the teacher this morning.
¿Has comido ya?Have you eaten yet?
Hemos vivido aquí toda la vida.We have lived here our whole lives.

Irregular past participles

A number of common verbs have an irregular participle that you simply need to memorize:

InfinitivoParticipioTraducción
hacerhechogedaan / done
decirdichogezegd / said
vervistogezien / seen
ponerpuestogezet / put
escribirescritogeschreven / written
abrirabiertogeopend / opened
volvervueltoteruggekeerd / returned
romperrotogebroken / broken
morirmuertogestorven / died

Examples

¿Qué has hecho hoy?What have you done today?
Nunca he visto esa película.I have never seen that movie.
He escrito tres correos esta mañana.I have written three emails this morning.
Se ha roto el brazo jugando al fútbol.He has broken his arm playing football.

Use and time markers

Use the pretérito perfecto for something that happened within a period that is not yet finished (today, this week, this year) or that has an effect on now. Typical markers:

  • hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este mes, este año
  • ya (already), todavía no / aún no (not yet)
  • alguna vez (ever), nunca (never), últimamente (lately)

Examples

Esta semana he trabajado mucho.This week I have worked a lot.
Todavía no he terminado el informe.I still haven't finished the report.
¿Has estado alguna vez en Japón?Have you ever been to Japan?
Ya hemos comprado los billetes.We have already bought the tickets.

Word order with pronouns and negation

Haber and the participle always stay together — you can never put a word between them. Reflexive or object pronouns therefore come before haber, never in between. In a negation, no also goes before haber.

Examples

Me he levantado tarde hoy.I got up late today.
No he visto tu mensaje.I haven't seen your message.
¿Lo has terminado ya?Have you finished it already?

💡 Tips

💡
For irregular participles, treat 'hecho, dicho, visto, puesto, escrito, abierto, vuelto, roto, muerto' as a little chant to memorize — they're extremely common.
💡
In Spain the pretérito perfecto is used a lot for 'today/this week', while in parts of Latin America the indefinido is often preferred, even for recent events. For A2 you learn the Peninsular Spanish standard.
💡
Never put a word between *haber* and the participle: 'he ya comido' doesn't exist — it has to be 'ya he comido' or 'he comido ya'.

🎯 Practise this topic with 10 interactive exercises (10)

🔧 Verbs: Present perfect

Related grammar

The regular preterite (pretérito indefinido)
The past tense for completed events: regular -ar, -er and -ir forms.
The irregular preterite (pretérito indefinido)
The most common verbs are irregular in the indefinido: ser/ir, tener, hacer, decir and more.
The imperfect past (pretérito imperfecto)
The past tense for habits, descriptions and background — almost always regular.
Indefinido versus imperfecto
Two past tenses, one choice: what happened (indefinido) versus what the situation was (imperfecto)?

← Indefinido versus imperfectoThe simple future (futuro simple) →

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