Present Perfect is a compound tense because it
requires an auxiliary verb, haber (to have)
and the past participle of the verb. As in
English, the verb haber always comes before the
present participle.
The conjugation pattern is as follows:
To Have (Present tense) + Past Participle
Here is an example of the present perfect tense
in English:
Carl has worked a lot this year.
In the above example, the verb “has worked” is
in the Present Perfect Tense because it indicates
a fact or an act in the past. However it also
indicates a period of time that has not completely elapsed.
Another use for the Present Perfect that is
similar to the previous example, is to express an action
that has taken place, but whose time has not
been definitely established.
Here is another example of the Present Perfect
in English:
Martha has eaten very little.
In this example, the verb “has eaten” is in the
Present Perfect to express that Martha ate in the past.
However, it implies that a definite time in
which this took place has not been determined.
To understand this tense better, let’s review
the conjugation of the auxiliary verb haber in the
present tense:
Yo he (I
have) nosotros hemos (we have)
tú has (you
have) ellos han (they have)
él ha
(he has) ellas han (they have)
Ella ha (she
has) ustedes han (you have)
Usted ha (you have)
Remember, with
haber conjugated in
the present tense, all that needs to be included is
the past participle of the verb that is
intended.
With this in mind, what follows is the
conjugation for the Present Perfect for -ar verbs.
Hablar
(To Speak) Past Participle:
Hablado
(Spoken)
Yo he hablado (I have
spoken) nosotros hemos hablado (we have spoken)
tú has hablado (you have
spoken) ellos han hablado (they have spoken)
él ha
hablado (he has spoken) ellas han hablado (they have
spoken)
ella ha hablado (she hasspoken)
ustedes han hablado (you have spoken)
usted ha hablado (you have spoken)
Here is an example with
hablar:
Jaime ha hablado mucho de su boda.
(Jaime has spoken a lot about his wedding.)
Once again, notice how similar the conjugation
pattern for the Present Perfect is in Spanish
and English. The auxiliary verb
haber
(to have) always comes before the past participle of the verb.
Conjugations for regular -er and and -ir verbs
mirror a similar pattern.
Comer
(to eat) Past Particple:
Comido (Eaten)
Yo he comido (I have
eaten) nosotros hemos comido (we have eaten)
tú has comido (you have
eaten) ellos han comido (they have eaten)
él ha
comido (he has eaten) ellas han comido (they have
eaten)
ella ha comido (she has eaten)
ustedes han comido (you have eaten)
usted ha comido (you have eaten)
Here is an example with
comer:
He comido mucho hoy. (I have eaten a lot
today.)
Salir
(to go out) Past Participle:
Salido (Gone out)
Yo he salido (I have gone
out) nosotros hemos salido (we have gone out)
tú has salido (you have gone
out) ellos han salido (they have gone out)
él ha
salido (he has gone out) ellas han salido (they have
gone out)
ella ha salido (she has gone
out) ustedes han salido (you have gone out)
usted ha salido (you have gone out)
Here is an example with
salir:
Juan Carlos ha salido mucho esta noche.
(Juan Carlos has gone out a lot tonight.)
Even the verb
ir, which is normally an
irregular verb in Spanish, has a regular conjugation in
the Present Perfect.
Ir (to
go) Past Participle: Ido (gone)
Yo he ido (I have gone)
nosotros hemos ido (we have gone)
tú has ido (you have gone)
ellos han ido (they have gone)
él ha ido
(he has gone) ellas han ido (they have gone)
Ella ha ido (she has gone)
ustedes han ido (you have gone)
Usted ha ido (you have gone)
What follows are a few examples using the
Present Perfect Tense:
Andrés ha pensado mucho en su país.
(Andrés has thought a lot about his country.)
Mi vecina Rosa y su hija Carmen han estado en
casa todo el día.
(My neighbor and her daughter Carmen have been
home all day.)
La República Dominicana ha producido peloteros
excelentes.
(The Dominican Republic has produced excellent
baseball players.)
Este año, hemos donado nuestras computadoras a
esa organización.
(This year, we have donated our computers to
that organization.)
He estado en Nueva York desde el año 2000.
(I have been in New York since the year 2000.)
Usted ha estado de dieta.
(You have been on a diet.)
Despite the Present Perfect’s relatively simple
conjugation, it should be noted that the
Present Perfect Tense is also used with
reflexive verbs.
This is expressed in the following example:
Mi papá se ha afeitado hoy.
(My father has shaved today.)
Note how the previously discussed pattern for
the Present Perfect Tense is repeated.
The only difference is that the reflexive
pronoun must come before the auxiliary verb
haber
and before the past participle of
the verb.
Reflexive Pronoun + Present
tense of Haber + Past Participle
Other examples of reflexive verbs in the Present
Perfect Tense are:
Me he cansado mucho hoy.
(I have been tired a lot today.)
El bebé de Juanita se ha enfermado.
(Juanita’s baby has gotten sick.)
Las muchachas se han divertido en el parque.
(The girls have had fun in the park.)
Te has sentado.
(You have sat down.)
Now let’s try a few exercises. Translate the
following into Spanish. The answers follow the exercise.
1. My friends have eaten my food.
2. Have you brushed your teeth?
3. Mariaelena and I have gone out to
play.
4. The volunteer doctors have helped
them a lot.
5. Roberto and Ana have gotten married.
6. Our son John has visited his aunt and
uncle.
7. David has talked a lot during the
class.
8. Frida has wanted to go to school
early.
1. Mis amigos han comido mi comida.
2. ¿Te has cepillado los dientes?
3. Mariaelena y yo hemos salido a jugar.
4. Los doctores voluntarios los han
ayudado mucho.
5. Roberto y Ana se han casado.
6. Nuestro hijo John ha visitado a sus
tios.
7. David ha hablado mucho durante la
clase.
8. Frida ha querido ir a la escuela
temprano.