The Perfect Tenses in Spanish

The Perfect Tenses in Spanish

The Perfe

I. Introduction. The perfect tenses [tiempos per
compuestos]; that is, they are made up of two
participle [participio pasado], for example: h
had spoken), habremos hablado (we will hav
the indicative: present perfect, past perfect, an
“pefective”, as opposed to “imperfect” or “im
action or state as completed and not in progre
future time, respectively.

The perfect tenses in Spanish are formed with

1. The helping verb haber, in the appropr
2. The masculine singular form of the pas

Past participles are normally formed by takin
and adding -ado for -ar verbs, or -ido for -er

hablar > hablado (spoken), comer > c

Second- and third-conjugation verbs whose s
leer > leído; oír > oído. Some verbs with irre

abrir abierto opened

cubrir cubierto closed, shut

decir dicho said, told

describir descrito described

descubrir   descubierto   discovered

devolver devuelto returned, gi

escribir   escrito   written

hacer hecho done, made

morir muerto died, dead

poner puesto put, placed,

romper roto broken, torn

ver visto seen

volver vuelto returned

Note: Compound words based on these roots typ
compuesto; deshacer > deshecho; oponer > op

II. The present perfect tense [el perfecto or el pr

To form the present perfect, use the present te
the past participle:

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ect Tenses

rfectos] are compound tenses [tiempos
o parts, a helping verb [verbo auxiliar] and a past
he hablado (I have spoken), habías hablado (you
ve spoken). There are three main perfect tenses in
nd future perfect. They are “perfect” or
mperfective”, in the sense that they portray an
ess, from the point of view of present, past, or

h:

riate tense and mood, plus:
st participle.

ng the infinitive, dropping off the last two letters,
r and -ir verbs:

comido (eaten), vivir > vivido (lived)

stems end in a vowel need a written accent mark:
egular past participles include:

t

iven back
e
, set
n

pically show these same irregularities: componer >
puesto; suponer > supuesto; prever > previsto.

resente perfecto]:
ense of haber plus the masculine singular form of

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The Perfect Tenses in Spanish

he hablado I have spoken
has hablado    you have spoken
ha hablado he/she has spoken
hemos hablado we have spoken
habéis hablado  you have spoken
han hablado they have spoken

Yo digo que ella lo ha hecho.  I say th
Ya hemos visto la película. We've a

The present perfect may be used to indicate a
been completed— prior to the present time. It
it in English, with two exceptions:

1. The present perfect is NOT used to ind
ongoing action which began in the past

Hace cuatro años que vivo  yI
aquí.

2. To express the idea “to have just (done
present of acabar de plus the infinitive

Acabo de oír la noticia.
Acabamos de poner el televisor
Note: acabar literally means to fi

III. The past perfect tense [el pluscuamperfecto]

To form the past perfect, use the imperfect of
past participle:

había hablado I had spoken
habías hablado  you had spoken
había hablado he/she had spoken
habíamos hablado we had spoken
habíais hablado you had spoken
habían hablado they had spoken

Juan dijo que había viajado a México

A past-time situation is normally indicated by
the above example. The past perfect tense (e.
having occurred —and been completed— at a
(e.g., dijo). It is used in almost exactly the sa
exceptions:

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hat she has done it.
already seen the film.
an action or state as having occurred —and having
t is used in almost exactly the same way as we use

dicate an action still in progress. To express an
t, the present tense is used:
I have lived (have been living) here for four
years.
e something)”, Spanish typically employs the
e, for example:

 I just heard the news [item].
r. We have just turned on the TV.
finish or to end.
]:
f haber plus the masculine singular form of the

o. John said that he had traveled to Mexico.
y the preterit and imperfect, for example by dijo in
.g., había viajado) views an action or state as
a time prior to another past action, state or time
ame way as we use it in English, with the following

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The Perfect Tenses in Spanish

1. The past perfect is NOT used to indicat
is still in progress in (simple) past time

Hacía cuatro años que vivíamo
aquí.
Trabajaban en el proyecto desd
hacía seis horas.
¿Cuánto tiempo llevabas miran
tele?

2. To express the idea “to had just (done s
imperfect of acabar de plus the infiniti

Acababa de oír la noticia.
Acabábamos de poner el televis

IV. The future perfect tense [el futuro perfecto]:

To form the future perfect, use the future of h
participle:

habré hablado I will have spoken
habrás hablado  you will have spok
habrá hablado he/she will have sp
habremos hablado we will have spoke
habréis hablado you will have spok
habrán hablado they will have spok

This tense views an action or state as having
the future. It is used in almost exactly the sam

Juan habrá salido para las ocho.
Todos habrán terminado la
composición para mañana.

As you already know, the future tense can be
to replace the present tense and an equivalent

Ahora serán las tres.   Right now it is

Similarly, the future perfect tense can be used
specifically, it may be used to replace the pret
“probably”:

¿Ese ruido? Habrá sido el gato. Tha

Marta ya habrá salido.    Mar

[Practice]

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te an action which began in previous past time and
e; the imperfect tense is used for this purpose:

os  We had lived (had been living) here
for four years.

de They had been working on the
project for six hours.

ndo la How long had you been watching
TV?

something)”, Spanish usually employs the
ive, for example:

 I had just heard the news [item].
sor. We had just turned on the TV [set].

:

haber plus the masculine singular form of the past

ken
poken
en
ken
ken

occurred —and been completed— at some time in
me way as we use it in English, for example:

 Juan will have left by eight o'clock.
Everyone will have finished their
compositions by tomorrow.

used to indicate conjecture in present time (that is,
t of “probably”):

probably 3:00.

d to indicate conjecture or probability in past time;
terit or present perfect tense and an equivalent of

at noise? It must have been the cat.
rtha (has) probably already left.

[S210 Main Page]

1/19/17, 10:48 AM

The Perfect Tenses in Spanish
Contact: Fred F. Jehle
Indiana University - Purdue University Ft. Wayne

Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499 USA

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