In this comparative grammar lesson of Romance languages, we study the perfect subjunctive tense in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French.
Table of Contents
Uses of the Perfect Subjunctive Tense
We have previously studied the subjunctive mood and the present subjunctive tense. The subjunctive mood is used to express opinion, possibility, and feelings, such as fear, doubt, hope, desire, etc.
Now, we will study the case when we want to express opinions, possibilities, and feelings, such as fear, doubt, hope, desire, etc., about something that happened in the past. In other words, we want to describe the past tense but in the subjunctive mood, i.e., the perfect subjunctive.
Conjugation
The perfect subjunctive, similar to the present perfect in the indicative, uses the past participle. However, the only difference is that the auxiliary verb is conjugated in the present subjunctive:
| SP | “haber” in the present subjunctive | + past participle |
| PT | “ter” or “haver” in the present subjunctive | |
| IT | “avere” or “essere” in the present subjunctive | |
| FR | “avoir” or “être” in the present subjunctive |
Examples
Here are some more examples in context:
| SP | Es bueno que hayas descansado después del partido. | It is good that you have relaxed after the match. |
| PT | É bom que você tenha descansado depois do jogo. | |
| IT | È importante che tu ti sia riposato dopo la partita. | |
| FR | C’est bien que vous vous soyez détendu après le match. | |
| SP | Espero que hayas disfrutado tu viaje. | I hope that you have enjoyed your trip. |
| PT | Espero que você tenha gostado da sua viagem. | |
| IT | Spero ti sia piaciuto il tuo viaggio. | |
| FR | Je suis content que tu aies apprécié ton voyage. | |
| SP | Me pone triste que no me haya llamado. | It makes me sad that he hasn’t called me. |
| PT | Fico triste que ele não tenha me ligado. | |
| IT | Mi rattrista che non mi abbia chiamato. | |
| FR | Ça me rend triste qu’il ne m’ait pas appelé. | |
| SP | Dudo que hayamos visto tu casa antes de hoy. | I doubt that we have seen your house before today. |
| PT | Duvido que tenhamos visto sua casa antes de hoje. | |
| IT | Dubito che abbiamo visto casa tua prima di oggi. | |
| FR | Je doute que nous ayons vu votre maison avant aujourd’hui. | |
| SP | Estoy feliz de que hayas llegado. | I am happy that you have arrived. |
| PT | Estou feliz que você tenha chegado. | |
| IT | Sono felice che tu sia arrivato. | |
| FR | Je suis content que tu sois arrivé. | |
| SP | No creo que hayan vivido aquí. | I don’t believe they have lived here. |
| PT | Não acredito que eles tenham vivido aqui. | |
| IT | Non credo che abbiano vissuto qui. | |
| FR | Je ne crois pas qu’ils aient vécu ici. |
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