7 El Pretérito Perfecto / The Present Perfect Tense (He amado)
El Pretérito Perfecto / The Present Perfect Tense (He amado)
The Present Perfect Tense is used to talk about things that have already happened. It is translated as “I have done / eaten / gone” etc. The Present Perfect Tense is made up of two parts: the verb haber (to have) and another verb (the action). Haber is conjugated in the Present Tense according to who has done the action, and the second verb changes form to become a past participle.
The following table shows how to conjugate haber.
| Personal Pronoun | Haber |
| Yo | he |
| Tú | has |
| Él/Ella/Usted | ha |
| Nosotros/Nosotras | hemos |
| Vosotros/Vosotras | habéis |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | han |
The second verb (past participle) is formed by removing the ending (ar, er or ir), and adding a new ending. The ar verb ending is ado, and the er and ir verb ending is ido. The following table shows three verbs made into past participles.
|
hablar
|
comer
|
vivir
|
|
habl-
|
com-
|
viv-
|
|
hablado
|
comido
|
vivido
|
The following are some examples of the Present Perfect.
| He hablado con el profesor. | I have spoken with the teacher. |
| Has comido el chocolate. | You have eaten the chocolate. |
| Ha vivido en Irlanda. | She has lived in Ireland. |
| Hemos andado por la playa. | We have walked on the beach. |
| Habéis aprendido a conducir. | You (all) have learned to drive. |
| Han recibido el regalo. | They have received the present. |
When it comes to irregular verbs in the Perfect Tense, the irregularity is always in the past participle (the second verb). The following is a list of some irregular past participles:
|
abrir
|
abierto
|
opened
|
caer
|
caído
|
fallen
|
|
cubrir
|
cubierto
|
covered
|
decir
|
dicho
|
said
|
|
escribir
|
escrito
|
written
|
hacer
|
hecho
|
done
|
|
leer
|
leído
|
read
|
morir
|
muerto
|
died
|
|
poner
|
puesto
|
put
|
romper
|
roto
|
broken
|
|
ver
|
visto
|
seen
|
volver
|
vuelto
|
returned
|
All you have to do is put these after haber as with the regular past participles.
Reflexive Verbs and the Present Perfect Tense
In the Present Perfect, the reflexive pronoun (se) goes before haber as a separate word. It cannot go after the past participle. The following table shows the reflexive verb lavarse (to wash oneself) in the Present Perfect.
|
Person
|
lavarse
|
English
|
|
Yo
|
me he lavado
|
I have washed myself
|
|
Tú
|
te has lavado
|
You have washed yourself
|
|
Él/Ella/Usted
|
se ha lavado
|
He has washed himself
She has washed herself You have washed yourself |
|
Nosotros/Nosotras
|
nos hemos lavado
|
We have washed ourselves
|
|
Vosotros/Vosotras
|
os habéis lavado
|
You (all) have washed yourselves
|
|
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes
|
se han lavado
|
They have washed themselves
You (all) have washed yourselves |
