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A2
Lesson 1. Pretérito perfecto (the present perfect): what has already happened
I can say what has already happened today, this week, and this year — he trabajado, hemos comido — and use the time expressions to choose this tense.
What has already happened — and is linked to today
Pretérito perfecto
Pretérito perfecto (the present perfect): what happened inside a time period that isn't over yet — today, this week, this year — and experience: whether something has ever happened. The result matters now.
US English says “I got up at seven this morning”; Spain uses this tense for any period still going on (Latin America often uses the preterite). Time expressions that signal it: hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este mes, este año, ya, todavía no, alguna vez, nunca.
Form: haber (never tener) + past participle. The forms of haber are in the table above.
The participle: -ar gives -ado (hablar → hablado), and -er and -ir give -ido (comer → comido, salir → salido).
If the stem ends in a vowel, the i takes an accent mark and is its own syllable: leído, traído, oído.
Nothing goes between haber and the participle: No he comido.
The participle never changes for gender or number: Ana ha llegado. Mis amigas han llegado.
Reflexive pronouns go before haber: Me he levantado a las siete.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Yo soy hablado” — correct: He hablado.
• NOT “He hablo” — correct: He hablado.
• NOT “He no comido” — correct: No he comido.
• NOT “Han llegadas” — correct: Han llegado.
• NOT “He me levantado” — correct: Me he levantado.
• NOT “Ayer he comido en casa” — yesterday is over: Ayer comí en casa.
Pretérito perfecto: haber + past participle
Only haber changes. The past participle doesn't change for gender or number.
| Person | haber | Full form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he | He trabajado mucho. |
| tú | has | ¿Has trabajado mucho? |
| él · ella · usted | ha | Ha trabajado mucho. |
| nosotros · nosotras | hemos | Hemos trabajado mucho. |
| vosotros · vosotras | habéis | ¿Habéis trabajado mucho? |
| ellos · ellas · ustedes | han | Han trabajado mucho. |
Lesson notes
Pretérito perfecto
Pretérito perfecto (the present perfect): what happened inside a time period that isn't over yet — today, this week, this year — and experience: whether something has ever happened. The result matters now.
US English says “I got up at seven this morning”; Spain uses this tense for any period still going on (Latin America often uses the preterite). Time expressions that signal it: hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este mes, este año, ya, todavía no, alguna vez, nunca.
Form: haber (never tener) + past participle. The forms of haber are in the table above.
The participle: -ar gives -ado (hablar → hablado), and -er and -ir give -ido (comer → comido, salir → salido).
If the stem ends in a vowel, the i takes an accent mark and is its own syllable: leído, traído, oído.
Nothing goes between haber and the participle: No he comido.
The participle never changes for gender or number: Ana ha llegado. Mis amigas han llegado.
Reflexive pronouns go before haber: Me he levantado a las siete.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Yo soy hablado” — correct: He hablado.
• NOT “He hablo” — correct: He hablado.
• NOT “He no comido” — correct: No he comido.
• NOT “Han llegadas” — correct: Han llegado.
• NOT “He me levantado” — correct: Me he levantado.
• NOT “Ayer he comido en casa” — yesterday is over: Ayer comí en casa.