The perfect tense - formation
There are two parts to the perfect tenseUsed to talk about something you have done or something that has happened recently. It is formed with the present tense of the verb haber followed by the past participle.:
- first part - the present tenseA verb that describes an action that is happening now or that happens regularly, eg I eat breakfast every day. of the verb haber
- second part - the past participleWords that express a completed action. They usually end in '-ed' in English, eg watched, danced, visited.
The past participle usually ends in -ed in English, eg watched, played, visited.
Examples:
- he visitado (I have visited)
- hemos comprado (we have bought)
The past participle for -ar verbs is formed by removing the -ar ending from the infinitiveThe form of the verb that has not been conjugated and is usually translated with 'to' in English, for example 'to play'. and adding -ado, eg:
estudiar (to study) → estudiado (studied)
The past participle for -er and -ir verbs is formed by removing the -er or -ir ending from the infinitive and adding -ido, eg.:
comer (to eat ) → comido (eaten)
vivir (to live) → vivido (lived)
| present tense of haber | |
| (yo) | he |
| (tú) | has |
| (él/ella/usted) | ha |
| (nosotros/as) | hemos |
| (vosotros/as) | habéis |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) | han |
| (yo) | |
| present tense of haber | he |
| (tú) | |
| present tense of haber | has |
| (él/ella/usted) | |
| present tense of haber | ha |
| (nosotros/as) | |
| present tense of haber | hemos |
| (vosotros/as) | |
| present tense of haber | habéis |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) | |
| present tense of haber | han |
+ past participle: visitado, hablado, bebido, etc.
Question
What is the past participle of these verbs?
- cambiar (to change)
- permitir (to allow)
- aprender (to learn)
- parar (to stop)
- cambiado (changed)
- permitido (allowed)
- aprendido (learned)
- parado (stopped)
Irregular past participles
Some verbs have irregularSomething that does not follow regular patterns and may have a different form. past participles. For example:
| infinitive | past participle |
| decir (to say) | dicho |
| describir (to describe) | descrito |
| escribir (to write) | escrito |
| hacer (to make/do) | hecho |
| poner (to put) | puesto |
| ver (to see) | visto |
| volver (to return) | vuelto |
| infinitive | decir (to say) |
|---|---|
| past participle | dicho |
| infinitive | describir (to describe) |
|---|---|
| past participle | descrito |
| infinitive | escribir (to write) |
|---|---|
| past participle | escrito |
| infinitive | hacer (to make/do) |
|---|---|
| past participle | hecho |
| infinitive | poner (to put) |
|---|---|
| past participle | puesto |
| infinitive | ver (to see) |
|---|---|
| past participle | visto |
| infinitive | volver (to return) |
|---|---|
| past participle | vuelto |
If the sentence is negative, the no goes before both parts of the perfect tense, eg no he hecho mi trabajo (I haven't done my work).
Question
Complete the sentences with the correct form of haber.
- Laura _______________ vivido en tres países.
- Yo nunca _______________ probado la paella.
- Mi padre ________________ pagado la factura.
- Juanita y yo _______________ comido en ese restaurante.
- Laura ha vivido en tres paises (Laura has lived in three countries).
- Yo nunca he probado la paella (I have never tried paella).
- Mi padre ha pagado la factura (My father has paid the bill).
- Juanita y yo hemos comido en ese restaurante (Juanita and I have eaten in that restaurant).
Question
Complete the sentences with both parts of the perfect tense.
- Mis amigos __________ _______________ (ir) de compras.
- Arturo __________ _______________ (estar) aquí por dos horas.
- Todavía yo no __________ _______________ (ver) la película.
- Pedro __________ _______________ (volver) esta mañana.
- Mis amigos han ido de compras (My friends have gone shopping).
- Arturo ha estado aquí por dos horas (Arturo has been here for two hours).
- Todavía yo no he visto la película (I still haven't seen the film).
- Pedro ha vuelto esta mañana (Pedro has returned this morning).
