Perfecting the Past in Spanish by Smith-Duran Gordon & Smith-Duran Cynthia

Author:Smith-Duran, Gordon & Smith-Duran, Cynthia [Smith-Duran, Gordon]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-07-31T04:00:00+00:00

The Present Perfect (I have eaten)

This tense is identical to the one we have in English. It works the same way and it is used in the same circumstances as it is in English (with regional exceptions).

One of the challenges for you, if you are from the United States, is that this tense isn't used as often as it is in the UK, for example.

In the U.K. we ask: What have you done today?

In the US you ask: What did you do today?

Obviously, I'm sure there are plenty of US citizens that use this tense, however, many don't. They have commented to me to me that it sounds very formal. Perhaps it's the way that a boss might ask an employee a question.

The good news is that even though you may not use it, most of us have heard the tense being used and have some familiarity with it.

The basic make-up of the Present Perfect is very easy. We have what is called the Auxillary verb / el verbo auxiliar which is also known as the 'helper verb' because its job is to help the next verb along which is the one that holds the meaning of the sentence. This Auxiliary verb is made like this:

Yo HE (I have) Nosotros/as HEMOS (we have)

Tú HAS (you have) Vosotros/as HABÉIS (you all have)

Él/Ella/Usted HA (he has etc) Ellos/as/Ustedes HAN (they have)

Then we add what is called the Past Participle which in English are words like: spoken, eaten, flown etc.

We make this by taking AR verbs, removing the AR and adding ADO.

Hablar/to speak = Hablado/spoken

With ER and IR verbs we take off the ER and IR and we add IDO.

Comer / to eat = Comido / eaten Vivir / to live = Vivido / lived

We then put the two together to make sentences like:

Hemos trabajado mucho hoy. = We have worked a lot today.

Ellos se han ido al cine.= They have gone to the cinema.

He hablado con la vecina esta tarde.= I have spoken with the neighbour this afternoon.

But, when should we use it?

Just like the Preterite and the Imperfect, the Present Perfect has some very clear rules about when it should be used. What's more, it fits beautifully into how we use the past.

Look at this visual concept:

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