Perfect Tense
The perfect tense is used when referencing actions that have been completed in the past. It’s a compound tense.
subject + conjugation of haber + past participle
Auxiliary Verb - Haber
This verb enables the formation of the compound perfect tense.
It can be conjugated into different tenses depending on when the action occurred.
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Present perfect — ‘haber’ in present tense
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Past perfect — ‘haber’ in imperfect tense
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Future perfect — ‘haber’ in future tense
Past Participle
This does not change in the conjugation or during the translation.
It’s formed by dropping the infinitive ending (-ar, -ir, -er) and adding:
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-AR verbs —> add -ado
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-ER & -IR verbs —> add -ido
Irregular Past Participles
Present Perfect
present tense of haber + past participle
Example
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¿Has probado el chocolate alguna vez? - Have you ever tried chocolate?
Past Perfect
past tense of haber + past participle
Example
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He had written a letter to María - Había escrito una carta a María
Future Perfect
future tense of haber + past participle
Example
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I will have written the book before the new year - Habré escrito el libro antes del año nuevo
Reflexive Verbs
The auxiliary verb and past participle are never separated. Therefore, reflexive pronouns are placed before the auxiliary verb.
In the present tense:
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’I brush my teeth’ —> ‘Me cepillo los dientes’
In the present perfect tense:
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‘I have brushed my teeth’ —> ‘Me he cepillado los dientes’
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Negative form —> ‘No me he cepillado los dientes’
Present | Imperfect | Future |
|---|---|---|
He | Había | Habré |
Has | Habías | Habrás |
Ha | Había | Habrá |
Hemos | Habíamos | Habremos |
Habéis | Habíais | Habréis |
Han | Habían | Habrán |
Verb | Past Participle |
|---|---|
Abrir - to open | Abierto |
Cubrir - to cover | Cubierto |
Decir - to say | Dicho |
Escribir - to write | Escrito |
Hacer - to do | Hecho |
Morir - to die | Muerto |
Poner - to put | Puesto |
Romper - to break | Roto |
Ver - to see | Visto |
Volver - to return | Vuelto |
