This is one of my favourite tenses! Firstly, because there are relatively few irregulars and secondly, because once you know this tense you can pick up another 3 really easily.
It’s a bit strange that they call this the Present Perfect because you use it to talk about what you have done in the past. So why is it named this way? I hear you ask! It’s named the Present Perfect because you use the present formation of the verb ‘Haber‘ to form this tense. Read on the find out more…
When to use the Present Perfect Tense:
The Present Perfect Tense (el Present del Perfecto) is used to say what has happened.
For example:
- I have finished the series.
- She has helped a lot.
- They have worked all day
The key feature of the ‘Perfect’ tenses is the verb HABER. This verb means ‘TO HAVE‘ but is totally different to TENER.
Uh oh: There’s another way to say ‘to have’?!
Yes! And if you ask me, this is what causes people the most aggro… deciding if we should use ‘tener‘ or ‘haber‘.
Learning to from the Present Perfect tense is fairly easy, once you learn the conjugation of the verb ‘haber‘ (to have). However, stopping yourself from using ‘tengo’ as the go to verb will be the hard part, because by now you are probably very familiar with ‘tengo’ and use it all the time to say ‘I have…’.
The main thing to remember is that we use these verbs very differently:
- Tener is about possession. I.e. I have (possession of) a car.
- HABER is about what you have done! I.e. I have travelled in a car.
Therefore, at any point when you want to say ‘I have…’ you need ask yourself: Am I saying ‘I have POSSESSION of something?’ or ‘I have DONE something?’
This way you can decide if you even need the Present Perfect Tense. Once you know that you need to Present Perfect Tense, you can focus on the conjugation. So let’s look at that next!
How to form the Present Perfect Tense:
- To form/conjugate the Present Perfect Tense you need to consider two verbs. Firstly, the verb ‘HABER‘ to say who has done the activity. I.e. I have ___________, you have _________etc. This is called the auxiliary verb or basically a ‘helping verb’ because it helps another verb to complete what you are trying to say.
- Secondly, you need the verb that says what you have actually done. This is called the ‘Past Participle‘ because it speaks of an activity that has passed. I.e. –listened/ watched/organised etc.
Here is an example of the auxiliary (helping) verb and the past participle working together:
- I have + washed
- Auxilary + past participle
In Spanish, the auxiliary (helping) verb of HABER is irregular in the present tense so you just have to learn it.
| Haber = To have (done something) |
| (yo) he___________ = I have_______ (tú) has___________ = You have_______ (él/ella/usted) ha___________ = He/she/it has_______ & You (polite) have_______ (nosotros/as) hemos__________ = We have_______ (vosotros/as) habéis__________ = All of you have_______ (ellos/ellas/ustedes) han___________ = They have_______ & All of you (polite) have_______ |
The past participle is much easier to deal with. You take the infinitive, remove the last two letters and add either ‘-ado‘ (for –AR verbs) or ‘-ido‘ (for –ER and –IR verbs):
| –AR verbs | –ER verbs | –IR verbs |
| escuchar (To listen) escuch__ escuchado (listened) | defender (to defend) defend__ defendido (defended) | convertir (to convert) convert__ convertido (converted) |
Here are some examples of the Present Perfect Tense:
- He escuchado una canción. (I have listened to a song.)
- Hemos defendido nuesta decisión. (We have defended our decision.)
- Han convertido el ático. (They have converted the attic.)
So it’s that simple?
Well, yes and no. In general it is that simple… You just learn how to form the verb ‘HABER (to have) ‘ and then use the correct formation followed by the past participle, which ends in ‘-ado‘ or ‘-ido‘.
However, as always, there are a few irregular past participles, but not that many so don’t worry.
Here are the common irregular past participles:
| English Infinitive | Spanish Infinitive | Spanish Past Participle | Example |
| To break | romper | roto | He roto el cristal.- I have broken the glass. |
| To say/tell | decir | dicho | ¿Has dicho la verdad?- Have you told/said the truth? |
| To see | ver | visto | Ella ha visto la luna llena.- She has seen the full moon. |
| To open | abrir | abierto | Hemos abierto la tienda.- We have opened the shop. |
| To do/make | hacer | hecho | ¿Habéis hecho los deberes?- Have you all done the homework? |
| To die | morir | muerto | Han muerto las flores.- The flowers have died. |
| To write/scribe | escribir | escrito | He escrito una carta.- I have written a letter. |
| To put | poner | puesto | ¿Has puesto los platos en la fregadera?- Have you put the plates in the sink? |
| To cover | cubrir | cubierto | Él ha cubierto la mesa.- He has covered the table. |
| To return | volver | vuelto | Hemos vuelto de nuevo.- We have returned again. |
| To fry | freír | frito | ¿Habéis frito las patatas?- Have you all fried the potatoes? |
| To satisfy | satisfacer | satisfecho | Han satisfecho los requisitos.- They have satisfied the requirements. |
These are the majority of the irregular verbs, but don’t forget to keep an eye out for other verbs that contain these within them. For example:
- Hacer (to do/make) = He hecho el almuerzo. (I have done/made the lunch).
- Deshacer (to undo/unmake) = He deshecho las maletas. (I have undone/unpacked the suitcases.)
- Rehacer (to redo/remake) = He rehecho el pastel. (I have remade the cake.)
Also, cubrir (to cover) is a verb that you’ll find within other popular verbs.
- Cubrir (to cover) = He cubierto la mesa (I have covered the table).
- Descubrir (to discover) = He descubierto la verdad. (I have discovered the truth.)
- Encubrir (to cover up/conceal) = He encubierto la evidencia. (I have covered up/concealed the evidence.)
Another verb to look out for is: escribir (to write/scribe):
- Escribir (to write/scribe) = He escrito una historia. (I have written/scribed a story.)
- Describir (to describe) = He descrito el ladrón. (I have described the thief.)
These irregulars will become easier to use in time, once you have had a decent amount of practice. So have a go at this interactive practice activity to get the ball rolling.
That’s not all folks!
The Present Perfect Tense is not the only perfect tense. There are others because not only do we talk about what we ‘have done’, we talk about what we had, will have or would have done. These are all types of Perfect Tenses.
Take a look at these examples in the Present, Past, Future and Conditional Perfect:
For example:
- I have finished. (Present perfect) – The one we are studying now.
- I had finished. (Past perfect/AKA pluperfect)- Find out more here.
- I will have finished (Future perfect)- Find out more here.
- I would have finished. (Conditional Perfect)- Find out more here.
So, once you are feeling confident in using the Present Perfect Tense, and you’ve had a little more practice, feel free to tackle one of the other Perfect Tenses. Just click on any of the links above and it’ll take you right where you need to be to find out about the other Perfect Tenses.
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