15.1 The present perfect
The perfect tenses
Los tiempos perfectos
15.1 The present perfect
You have learned how to form past participles, and how to use them as adjectives and to express the true passive voice. The past participles in both cases had to agree in number and gender with the nouns being modified. La puerta está cerrada. Las ventanas fueron abiertas por el profesor.
15.1 The present perfect You will now learn how to form the perfect
indicative tenses and the present perfect subjunctive.
They are all compound tenses that use the auxilliary verb (helping verb) “haber” (to have) and the past participle, always ending in the letter “o.”
You will need to know the verb “haber” in the present, preterit, imperfect, future, conditional, and present subjunctive. (Previously, you learned the idiomatic forms of “haber” such as “hay” = there is/are. The perfect tenses are formed from the same verb using complete conjugations of “haber.”
15.1 The present perfect Note that to have can be either a main verb or an
auxiliary verb in English.
As a main verb, it corresponds to tener, while as an auxiliary, it corresponds to haber.
Tengo muchos amigos. I have a lot of friends.
He tenido mucho éxito.I have had a lot of success.
15.1 The present perfect
Present Preterit Imperfect Future Conditional Present Subjunctive
he hube había habré habría haya
has hubiste habías habrás habrías hayas
ha hubo había habrá habría haya
hemos hubimos habíamos habremos habríamos hayamos
habéis hubisteis habíais habréis habríais hayáis
han hubieron habían habrán habrían hayan
(hay) There is/are
(hubo) There was/were
(había) There was/were
(habrá) There will be
habríaThere would be
(haya)There is/are
15.1 The present perfect I have done the homework. (present perfect) He hecho la tarea. You had done the homework. (past perfect) Habías hecho la tarea. (Hubiste hecho) * Imperfect is used
commonly. Preterit is only used in literature.
He will have done the homework. (future perfect) Habrá hecho la tarea. We would have done the homework. (conditional perfect) Habríamos hecho la tarea. The teacher hopes that they have done the homework.
(present perfect subjunctive) La profesora espera que hayan hecho la tarea.
15.1 The present perfect To form any perfect tense, use the following format:
the verb “haber” conjugated in the appropriate tense
+
past participle of the main verb (always ending in “o.”)
NOTE: The past participle does not change in form when it is part of the perfect tenses; it only changes in form when it is used as an adjective and in the passive voice.
Clara ha abierto las ventanas. Las camas son hechas por la criada. Clara has opened the windows. The beds are made by the maid.
Las ventanas están abiertas.The windows are open.
15.1 The present perfect In English, the auxiliary verb and the past participle are
often separated. In Spanish, however, these two elements—haber and the past participle—cannot be separated by any word.
Siempre hemos vivido en Bolivia. We have always lived in Bolivia.
Usted nunca ha venido a mi oficina. You have never come to my office.
15.1 The present perfect In Spanish, the perfect tenses are often used with the
words ya (already) or todavía no (not yet) to indicate that an action, event, or state occurring or not yet occurring before another.
Remember that, unlike its English equivalents, ya and todavía no cannot be placed between haber and the past participle.
Ella ya había salido cuando llamaron. She had already left when they called.
Cuando llegué, Raúl todavía no había llegado.When I arrived, Raúl had not yet arrived.
15.1 The present perfect
The word no and any object or reflexive pronouns are placed immediately before haber.
Yo no he comido la merienda. I haven’t eaten the snack.
¿Por qué no la has comido?Why haven’t you eaten it?
Susana ya se ha entrenado.Susana has already practiced.
Ellos no lo han terminado.They haven’t finished it.
15.1 The present perfect In Spanish, the present perfect indicative (el pretérito perfecto de
indicativo), is generally used just as it is used in English to talk about what someone has done or has not done.
It usually refers to the recent past.
He trabajado cuarenta horas esta semana. I have worked forty hours this week.
¿Cuál es el último libro que has leído?What is the last book that you have read?
15.1 The present perfect
SINGULAR FORMS PLURAL FORMS
yo he nosotros/as hemos
tú has vosotros/as habéis
Ud. / él / ella ha Uds. / ellos / ellas han
Present indicative of haber
15.1 The present perfect
¡INTÉNTALO! Indica el pretérito perfecto de indicativo (present perfect) de los siguientes verbos.
1.(comer, vivir) Yo ________________________
he comido = I have eaten
he vivido = I have lived
2. (traer, compartir) Tú ____________________
has traído = You have brought
has compartido = You have shared
3. (llegar, estar) Usted ya _______________________
ha llegado = You have already arrived
ha estado = You have already been
15.1 The present perfect
4. (leer, resolver, poner) Ella ______________
ha leído = She has read
ha resuelto = She has solved
ha puesto = She has put
5. (decir, romper, hacer) Ellos___________
han dicho = They have said/told
han roto = They have broken
han hecho = They have done
15.1 The present perfect
6. (ver, dormirse) Nosotros __________________
hemos visto = We have seen
nos hemos dormido = We have fallen asleep
7. (escribir, abrir) Yo no____________
he escrito = I have not written
he abierto = I have not opened
8. (correr, morir) Él todavía no____________
ha corrido = He has not yet run
ha muerto = He has not yet died
15.1 The present perfect The past perfect for (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) uses
the imperfect of the verb “haber.” Only in literature is the preterit of “haber” used for the past perfect.
The past perfect indicates an action that happened prior to another action in the past. (had done/had happened)
The past perfect is often used in conjunction with antes de + [noun] or antes de + [infinitive] to describe when the action(s) occurred.
Antes de este año, nunca había estudiado español.
Before this year, I had never studied Spanish.
Luis me había llamado antes de venir.Luis had called me before he came.
15.1 The present perfect
Antes de 2003, había vivido en La Paz.Before 2003, I had lived in La Paz.
Cuando llegamos, Luis ya había salido.When we arrived, Luis had already left.
15.1 The present perfect
SINGULAR FORMS PLURAL FORMS
yo había nosotros/as habíamos
tú habías vosotros/as habíais
Ud. / él / ella había Uds. / ellos / ellas habían
Past imperfect indicative of haber
15.1 The present perfect¡INTÉNTALO! Indica el pretérito pluscuamperfecto de indicativo (past perfect) de cada verbo.
1.Nosotros ya (cenar) _______ cuando nos llamaron.
habíamos cenado
We had already eaten when they called us.
2. Antes de tomar esta clase, yo no _______ (estudiar) nunca el español.
había estudiado
Before taking this class, I had not ever (never) studied Spanish.
3. Antes de ir a México, ellos nunca _______ (ir) a otro país.
habían ido
Before going to Mexico, they had never gone to another country.
15.1 The present perfect
4. Eduardo nunca __ (entrenarse) tanto en invierno.
se había entrenado
Eduardo had never trained so much in the winter.
5. Tú siempre__ (llevar) una vida sana antes del año
pasado.
habías llevado
You had always led a healthy life before last year.
6. Antes de conocerte, yo ya te __ (ver) muchas veces.
había visto
Before meeting you, I had already seen you many times.
15.1 The present perfect In Spanish, the future perfect (el futuro perfecto) is
used to talk about what will have happened by some future point in time.
The phrases para + [time expression] and dentro de + [time expression] are used with the future perfect to talk about what will have happened by some future point in time.
Para el lunes, habré hecho todas las preparaciones. By Monday, I will have made all the preparations.
Dentro de un año, habré renunciado a mi trabajo.Within a year, I will have resigned from my job.
15.1 The present perfect
SINGULAR FORMS PLURAL FORMS
yo habré nosotros/as habremos
tú habrás vosotros/as habréis
Ud. / él / ella habrá Uds. / ellos / ellas habrán
Future indicative of haber
15.1 The present perfect
¡INTÉNTALO! Indica la forma apropiada del futuro perfecto.
1. Para el sábado, nosotros _______ (obtener) el dinero.
habremos obtenido
By Saturday, we will have obtained (gotten) the money.
2. Yo ______(terminar) el trabajo para cuando lleguen mis amigos.
habré terminado
I will have finished the work by when (by the time) my friends arrive.
15.1 The present perfect
3. Silvia ______(hacer) todos los planes para el próximo fin de semana.
habrá hecho
Silvia will have made all of the plans by next weekend.
4. Para el cinco de junio, ustedes ___ (llegar) a Quito.
habrán llegado
By June 5th, you all will have arrived in Quito.
15.1 The present perfect5. Para esa fecha, Ernesto y tú _______ (recibir) muchas
ofertas.
habrán recibido
By that date, Ernesto and you will have received many
offers.
6. Para el ocho de octubre, nosotros ya ______ (llegar) a Colombia.
habremos llegado
By October 8th, we will have already arrived in Colombia.
15.1 The present perfect9. Para las nueve, mi hermana ______ (salir).
habrá salido
By 9:00, my sister wil have left.
10. Para las ocho, tú y yo ______ (limpiar) el piso.
habremos limpiado
By 8:00, you and I will have cleaned the floor.
15.1 The present perfect The conditional perfect is used to express an action that
would have occurred, but didn’t.
¿No fuiste al espectáculo?You didn’t go to the show?
¡Te habrías divertido! You would have had a good time!
Maite habría preferido ir a la ópera, pero Álexprefirió ir al cine.Maite would have preferred to go to the opera, butÁlex preferred to see a movie.
15.1 The present perfect
SINGULAR FORMS PLURAL FORMS
yo habría nosotros/as habríamos
tú
habríasvosotros/as
habríais
Ud. / él / ella habría
Uds. / ellos / ellas habrían
Conditional indicative of haber
15.1 The present perfect
¡INTÉNTALO! Indica las formas apropiadas del condicional perfecto de los verbos entre paréntesis.
1.Nosotros ______(hacer) todos los quehaceres.
habríamos hecho
We would have done all of the chores.
2. Tú ______ (apreciar) mi poesía.
habrías apreciado
You would have appreciated my poetry.
15.1 The present perfect3. Ellos ______ (pintar) la casa.
habrían pintado
They would have painted the house.
4. Usted ______ (tocar) el piano.
habría tocado
You would have played the piano.
5. Ellas ______ (poner) la mesa.
habrían puesto
They would have set the table.
15.1 The present perfect6. Tú y yo ______ (resolver) los problemas.
habríamos resuelto
You and I would have solved the problems.
7. Ustedes ______ (vivir) en el campo.
habrían vivido
You all would have lived in the countryside.
8. Tú ______ (abrir) la puerta.
habrías abierto
You would have opened the door.
15.1 The present perfect
The present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo), like the present perfect indicative, is used to talk about what has happened.
The same conditions which trigger the use of the present subjunctive apply to the present perfect subjunctive.
Present subjunctive Present perfect subjunctive
Espero que duermas bien. Espero que hayas dormido bien.I hope that you sleep well. I hope that you have slept well.
No creo que aumente de peso. No creo que haya aumentado de peso.
I don’t think he will gain weight. I don’t think he has gained weight.
15.1 The present perfect
The action expressed by the present perfect subjunctive is seen as occurring before the action expressed in the main clause.
Me alegro de que ustedes hayan estudiado tanto esta tarde. I’m glad that you have studied so much this afternoon.
Dudo que ella haya llegado a tiempo.I doubt that she has arrived on time.
15.1 The present perfect
¡ATENCIÓN!
In Spanish the present perfect subjunctive is used for a recent action.
No creo que lo hayas dicho bien. I don’t think you (have) said it right.
Espero que él haya llegado.I hope he (has) arrived.
15.1 The present perfect
SINGULAR FORMS PLURAL FORMS
yo haya nosotros/as hayamos
tú hayas vosotros/as hayáis
Ud. / él / ella haya Uds. / ellos / ellas hayan
Present subjunctive of haber
15.1 The present perfect¡INTÉNTALO! Indica el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo de los verbos entre paréntesis.
1.Me gusta que ustedes ______ (decir) la verdad.
hayan dicho
I like that you all have told the truth.
2. No creo que tú ______ (comer) tanto.
hayas comido
I don’t believe that you have eaten so much.
3. Es imposible que usted ______ (poder) hacer tal (such a) cosa.
haya podido
It is impossible that you have been able to do such a thing.
15.1 The present perfect4. Me alegro de que tú y yo ______ (estudiar) juntas.
hayamos estudiado
I am happy that you and I have studied together.
5. Es posible que yo ______ (aprender) un poco esta semana.
haya aprendido
It is possible that I have learned a little this week.
6. Espero que ______ (haber) suficiente comida en la celebración.
haya habido
I hope that there has been sufficient food at the celebration.
15.1 The present perfect
Use the third person singular of haber + habido in the appropriate tense to express:
There has/have been There had been There will have been There would have been
Hay muchos problemas con el nuevo profesor.There are many problems with the new professor.
Ha habido muchos problemas con el nuevo profesor.There have been a lot of problems with the new professor.