Present Perfect or Preterite
A2–B1The past 5 min
A finished time takes the preterite and experience the perfect; Spain also says hoy he comido where most of Latin America says hoy comí. A finished time, such as ayer, takes the preterite everywhere: Ayer comí paella.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A2: choose A2 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A2: choose A2 or a higher level.
CheatsheetA2–B1
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preterite | a finished time: ayer, el año pasado, hace dos años | El año pasado viajé a Chile. | Last year I travelled to Chile. |
| Perfect | experience up to now: alguna vez, nunca | ¿Has estado alguna vez en Chile? | Have you ever been to Chile? |
| Perfect | a situation that goes on up to now | Siempre he vivido aquí. | I've always lived here. |
| Perfect | a time that includes now: hoy, esta semana, este año | Hoy he comido paella. | I had paella today. |
| Preterite | a finished action, today too: hoy, esta semana, este año | Hoy comí paella. | I had paella today. |
| Perfect | ya and something just said or done | ¿Ya has terminado? | Have you finished yet? |
| Preterite | ya and something just said or done | ¿Ya terminaste? | Have you finished yet? |
| B1Both | nunca up to now takes the perfect; nunca in a finished period takes the preterite | Nunca he estado allí en mi vida. / Nunca estuve allí en aquella época. | I've never been there in my life. / I was never there at that time. |
| Trap | ayer never takes the perfect | Ayer vi a Juan. | I saw Juan yesterday. |
OverviewA2–B1
- The preterite looks at a time that is over; the perfect looks at a time that reaches up to now. En 2019 fui a Cuba. / ¿Has ido alguna vez a Cuba? — I went to Cuba in 2019. / Have you ever been to Cuba?
- Grammars also call them pretérito perfecto simple and pretérito perfecto compuesto.
- Latin America: In most of Latin America, the preterite tells most finished actions, today's included, and the perfect keeps experience and situations up to now; Andean Spanish (Peru, Bolivia, highland Ecuador) uses the perfect for today, as Spain does.
- Spain: In Spain, the perfect also tells any action in a time that includes now: hoy, esta semana, este año.
- B1Spain: In the Canary Islands and parts of northern Spain, speakers choose the preterite, as in Latin America.
Compare: perfect and preteriteA2–B1
| Present perfect | Preterite |
|---|---|
| a time that reaches up to now: experience, a situation still going on | a time that is over, stated or known |
| Nunca he estado en Chile. — I've never been to Chile. | En 2010 estuve en Chile. — I was in Chile in 2010. |
| Siempre he vivido aquí. — I've always lived here. | Viví aquí hasta 2015. — I lived here until 2015. |
| B1Nunca he estado allí en mi vida. — I've never been there in my life. | Nunca estuve allí en aquella época. — I was never there at that time. |
| alguna vez, nunca, siempre, todavía no — ever, never, always, not yet | ayer, anoche, el lunes, el año pasado, hace dos años — yesterday, last night, on Monday, last year, two years ago |
| hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este año — today, this morning, this week, this year | — |
| — | hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este año — today, this morning, this week, this year |
Use: today, this week, just nowA2–B1
- Both choices are correct Spanish, and each variety prefers its own.
| Time | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| hoy | Hoy he desayunado tarde. | I had breakfast late today. |
| hoy | Hoy desayuné tarde. | I had breakfast late today. |
| esta semana | Esta semana he trabajado mucho. | I've worked a lot this week. |
| esta semana | Esta semana trabajé mucho. | I worked a lot this week. |
| ya | ¿Ya has terminado? | Have you finished yet? |
| ya | ¿Ya terminaste? | Have you finished yet? |
| B1Something just said | ¿Qué has dicho? | What did you say? |
| B1Something just said | ¿Qué dijiste? | What did you say? |
Typical errorsA2–B1
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Ayer he comido paella. | Ayer comí paella. | ayer takes the preterite in every variety |
| En 2010 he estado en Chile. | En 2010 estuve en Chile. | a year that is over takes the preterite |
| Hace dos años he vivido en Lima. | Hace dos años viví en Lima. | hace with a length of time takes the preterite |
| B1Cuando era joven he viajado mucho. | Cuando era joven, viajé mucho. | a stage of life that is over is a finished time |