Present Perfect: he comido
A2The past 7 min
The present perfect joins haber and a participle to link a past action to now: he comido, has visto. The participle never changes, and nothing goes between haber and the participle: Ana ha llegado. Ya lo hemos visto.
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
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | he / has / ha / hemos / han + past participle | ¿Has estado en Perú? | Have you been to Peru? |
| Form | vosotros: habéis + past participle | ¿Habéis terminado? | Have you finished? |
| Form | participle: hablar → hablado, comer → comido, vivir → vivido | Nunca he vivido sola. | I've never lived on my own. |
| Form | irregular participles: hacer → hecho, escribir → escrito, ver → visto | Ya he hecho la cena. | I've already made dinner. |
| Form | more irregular participles: decir → dicho, poner → puesto, volver → vuelto, abrir → abierto | ¿Quién ha abierto la ventana? | Who has opened the window? |
| Use | experience up to now, with alguna vez and nunca | ¿Has probado el mole alguna vez? | Have you ever tried mole? |
| Use | done or not yet done, with ya and todavía no | Todavía no he terminado. | I haven't finished yet. |
| Use | a time that includes now: hoy, esta mañana, este año | Esta mañana he ido al médico. | I went to the doctor this morning. |
| Use | a situation that goes on up to now | Siempre he vivido aquí. | I've always lived here. |
| Trap | object pronouns and no go before haber | No lo he visto. | I haven't seen it. |
| Trap | a finished time such as ayer takes the preterite | Ayer fui al cine. | I went to the cinema yesterday. |
OverviewA2
- The present perfect tells a past action in a time that reaches up to now. ¿Has visto mis llaves? — Have you seen my keys?
- Spanish grammars call it pretérito perfecto or pretérito perfecto compuesto.
- Spain: In Spain, it also tells actions finished earlier today, this week or this year.
- Latin America: In most of Latin America, it tells experiences and situations up to now, and a finished action, today's included, takes the preterite; Andean Spanish (Peru, Bolivia, highland Ecuador) uses the perfect for today, as Spain does.
- Both tenses side by side: Present Perfect or Preterite.
Form: haber and the participleA2
| Person | haber | hablar | comer |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | he | he hablado | he comido |
| tú | has | has hablado | has comido |
| él / ella / usted | ha | ha hablado | ha comido |
| nosotros / nosotras | hemos | hemos hablado | hemos comido |
| vosotros / vosotras | habéis | habéis hablado | habéis comido |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | han | han hablado | han comido |
- The participle adds ado to -ar verbs and ido to -er and -ir verbs. ¿Has trabajado en un hotel? / Nunca he vivido sola. — Have you worked in a hotel? / I've never lived on my own.
- After haber, the participle never changes for person, gender or number: Ella ha llegado. / Ellas han llegado. — She has arrived. / They have arrived.
- Nothing goes between haber and the participle; object pronouns and no go before haber: No lo he visto. / Ya te lo he dicho. — I haven't seen it. / I've already told you.
- After a vowel, the ending takes an accent: leído, oído, traído. ¿Has leído este libro? — Have you read this book?
Form: irregular participlesA2
| Verb and participle | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| hacer → hecho | Ya he hecho la cena. | I've already made dinner. |
| escribir → escrito | Nunca he escrito un poema. | I've never written a poem. |
| ver → visto | ¿Has visto esta película? | Have you seen this film? |
| decir → dicho | ¿Qué te ha dicho el médico? | What has the doctor told you? |
| poner → puesto | ¿Dónde has puesto las llaves? | Where have you put the keys? |
| volver → vuelto | Mi hermano todavía no ha vuelto. | My brother hasn't come back yet. |
| abrir → abierto | ¿Quién ha abierto la ventana? | Who has opened the window? |
| romper → roto | Alguien ha roto el vaso. | Someone has broken the glass. |
- Every irregular participle in one table: Irregular Verbs Table.
UseA2
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Experience up to now: alguna vez, nunca | ¿Has estado en México alguna vez? / Nunca he visto la nieve. | Have you ever been to Mexico? / I've never seen snow. |
| Done or not yet done: ya, todavía no | Ya he comprado el pan. / Todavía no he terminado. | I've already bought the bread. / I haven't finished yet. |
| A time that includes now: hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este año | Esta mañana he ido al médico. / Esta semana hemos trabajado mucho. | I went to the doctor this morning. / We've worked a lot this week. |
| A situation that goes on up to now | Siempre he vivido en esta ciudad. | I've always lived in this city. |
- A finished time, such as ayer or el año pasado, takes the preterite in every variety: Ayer fui al cine. — I went to the cinema yesterday.
- Latin America: In most of Latin America, an action finished earlier today takes the preterite; Andean Spanish (Peru, Bolivia, highland Ecuador) takes the perfect, as Spain does: Esta mañana fui al médico. — I went to the doctor this morning.
Typical errorsA2
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Ayer he visto a Juan. | Ayer vi a Juan. | ayer is a finished time: preterite |
| He escribido una carta. | He escrito una carta. | irregular participle: escribir → escrito |
| Ellas han llegadas. | Ellas han llegado. | after haber, the participle never changes |
| He lo visto. | Lo he visto. | the pronoun goes before haber |
| Ha ya llegado. | Ya ha llegado. | nothing goes between haber and the participle |
| Tengo comido. | He comido. | to say “I have eaten”, the helper is haber, not tener |