The present perfect tense in Spanish, like in English, is used to describe events that happened recently or started in the past and continue in the present. It is a compound tense, meaning it requires an auxiliary verb, in this case, the irregular verb “haber” in the present tense, followed by the past participle.
Structure of the Present Perfect Tense
The auxiliary “haber” serves a similar function to the auxiliary “have” in English, e.g., “I have done my homework.”
| “-ar” verbs | subject pronoun + “haber” in present tense + (verb stem+ ado) |
| “-er” verbs | subject pronoun + “haber” in present tense + (verb stem+ ido) |
| “-ir” verbs | subject pronoun + “haber” in present tense + (verb stem+ ido) |
Conjugation of the Verb “Haber”
Let us look at some verb examples and the conjugation of “haber.”
| -ar ending e.g., hablar | -er ending e.g., comer | -ir ending e.g., vivir | ||
| yo | he | hablado | comido | vivido |
| tú | has | |||
| él/ella/usted | ha | |||
| nosotros/-as | hemos | |||
| vosotros/-as | habéis | |||
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han |
Examples of the Present Perfect in Spanish
Here are some more examples in context of the present perfect tense in Spanish:
| Examples | |||
| yo | he | Yo he visitado Egipto. | I have visited Egypt. |
| tú | has | Tú has bebido el café. | You have drunk the coffee. |
| él/ella/usted | ha | Ella ha hablado con su madre. | She has spoken to her mother. |
| nosotros/-as | hemos | Nosotros hemos comido. | We have eaten. |
| vosotros/-as | habéis | Vosotros habéis llegado. | You have arrived. |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han | Ellos han vivido aquí. | They have lived here. |
Irregular Past Participles
There are a few verbs with irregular past participles that need to be memorized.
| Verb | Past Participle | Meaning | Examples | |
| abrir | abierto | to open | He abierto la puerta. | I have opened the door. |
| absolver | absuelto | to absolve | Lo han absuelto. | They have absolved him. |
| cubrir | cubierto | to cover | Hemos cubierto el suelo. | We have covered the floor. |
| decir | dicho | to say | Te lo he dicho. | I have told you so. |
| escribir | escrito | to write | Ella ha escrito una carta. | She has written a letter. |
| freír | frito | to fry | ¿Has frito la papa? | Have you fried the potato? |
| hacer | hecho | to do | He hecho la tarea. | I have done the task. |
| imprimir | impreso | to print | He impreso la foto. | I have printed the photo. |
| morir | muerto | to die | Él ha muerto. | He has died. |
| poner | puesto | to put | Él nos ha puesto en peligro. | He has put us in danger. |
| proveer | provisto | to provide | Hemos provisto el agua. | We have provided water. |
| resolver | resuelto | to resolve | Ella ha resuelto el problema. | She has resolved the problem. |
| romper | roto | to break | Ella ha roto la ventana. | She has broken the window. |
| satisfacer | satisfecho | to satisfy | Mi trabajo me ha satisfecho. | My work has satisfied me. |
| ver | visto | to see | No lo he visto. | I haven’t seen him. |
| volver | vuelto | to return | Ella no ha vuelto. | She hasn’t returned. |
Notice that the present perfect tense in Spanish consists of the verb “haber” conjugated in the present simple tense followed by the past participle. For example, the past participle of the verb “poner” is “puesto,” thus, “I have put” is translated as “yo he puesto.”
Notes on Irregular Past Participles
Among the above exceptions, it is acceptable for the verbs “freír,” “imprimir,” and “proveer” to use the past participle in the regular form as “freído,” “imprimido,” and “proveído.” However, only irregular forms are acceptable if used as adjectives.
The verbs above can be used with prefixes that change the meaning, but the irregular form remains the same. For example, the past participles of “revolver” (to scramble), “devolver” (to return), and “envolver” (to wrap) are “revuelto,” “devuelto,” and “envuelto,” respectively, which are all similar to the past participle of the original verb “volver” without the prefix, i.e., “vuelto.”
Another minor orthographic irregularity is in the case of “-er” and “-ir” verbs if the stem ends in a vowel, e.g., the stem of “leer” (to read) is “le-.” In this case, the “i” in the past participle ending is accented, i.e., “-ído.” Thus, the past participle of “leer” is “leído.” Other examples include “caer” (to fall), “creer” (to believe), “oír” (to hear), “poseer” (to possess), “reír” (to laugh), and “traer” (to bring). An exception to the accented “i” rule is verbs with a “-uir” ending. In this case, the “i” is not accented, e.g., “destruir” (to destroy) becomes “destruido.”
Past Participle as Adjective
Many adjectives in Spanish are the same as the past participle, especially when active meaning is conveyed.
| Examples | |||
| agradecido | grateful | Estoy agradecido por tu ayuda. | I’m grateful for your help. |
| atrevido | daring | Él es una persona muy atrevida. | He is a very daring person. |
| divertido | amusing | Su comportamiento era muy divertido. | His behavior was very amusing. |
| experimentado | experienced expert | Él es un médico muy experimentado. | He is a very experienced doctor. |
In some cases, the past participle and the adjective are different. It is useful to remember that the following words use different adjective and past participle forms:
| Infinitive | Meaning | Adjective | Past Participle |
| atender | to look after | atento | atendido |
| bendecir | to bless | bendito | bendecido |
| confundir | to confuse | confuso, confundido | confundido |
| corromper | to corrupt | corrupto, corrompido | corrompido |
| despertar | to wake up | despierto | despertado |
| maldecir | to curse | maldito | maldecido |
| poseer | to possess | poseso, poseído | poseído |
| presumir | to presume | presunto | presumido |
| suspender | to suspend | suspenso, suspendido | suspendido |
For example:
| Yo he despertado. | I have woken up. | “despertado” is the past participle |
| Yo estoy despierto. | I am awake. | “despierto” is an adjective |
| Me han confundido. | They have confused me. | “confundido” is the past participle |
| Ella estaba confusa. | She was confused. | “confusa” is an adjective |
The Present Perfect Progressive Tense
Finally, despite not being grammatically correct or recognized by the Real Academia Española (RAE), the present perfect progressive tense is sometimes heard by native speakers to describe an action that was initiated in the past and continues to happen.
A sentence in the present perfect progressive tense is formed as follows:
| subject pronoun + “haber” in present tense + “estado”+ gerund |
| -ar ending hablar | -er ending comer | -ir ending vivir | |||
| yo | he | estado | hablando | comiendo | viviendo |
| tú | has | ||||
| él/ella/usted | ha | ||||
| nosotros/-as | hemos | ||||
| vosotros/-as | habéis | ||||
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han |
For example:
| He estado hablando con él por dos horas. | I have been talking with him for two hours. |
| Ha estado viviendo aquí por mucho tiempo. | He has been living here for a long time. |
In formal speech, one must not use this grammatically incorrect tense. The alternative is to use the present perfect tense, which we studied previously. The present perfect tense is the grammatically correct alternative in Spanish to the present perfect progressive tense.
Thus, the above two examples should be rewritten as follows:
| He hablado con él. | I have talked with him. |
| Ha vivido aquí por mucho tiempo. | He has lived here for a long time. |
Quiz: Present Perfect Tense in Spanish
Next: Special Uses of “Haber” & “Tener”
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