Ya has hablado con Enrique (you have already spoken to Enrique.)
Nunca he comido ceviche (I have never eaten ceviche.)
Todavia no hemos recibido los regalos (We haven’t received the present yet.)
There are several common verbs that have irregular past participles: ver =visto, ir= ido, hacer = hecho, escribir = escrito, decir = dicho, volver = vuelto, abrir= abierto, poner = puesto, morir= muerto, imprimir= impreso... (learn more about past participles).
3. The auxiliary verb (haber) and the past participle are never separated in Spanish, unlike English. If object pronouns are present, they go immediately before haber.
¿Los has visto? (Have you seen them?)
Se las he dado. (I have given them to her.)
4. It is mainly used with expressions such as nunca (never), ya (already), todavía no (not yet), a veces (sometimes), ¿alguna vez (ever)? …
This form is very widely used in Spain, while in Latin and South America, the preterite is used more often. In the following examples, you can see some differences between both ways to use this tense:
Este mes he viajado a Perú. (This month I have traveled to Peru-Spain.)
Este mes viajé a Perú. (This month I traveled to Peru-America.)
Hoy he llegado tarde a trabajar. (Today I have arrived late to work– Spain.)
Hoy llegué tarde a trabajar. (Today I arrived late to work-America.)
5. The present perfect tense is NOT used:
- to indicate an action still in progress. The present tense is used to do this:
Hace tres años que vivo aquí. (I have lived here for three years.)
- to express the idea to have just done something. It is more common to use the periphrasis acabar + de to convey this idea.
Acabo de leer este libro. (I have just finished reading this book.)
6. Finally, notice that the verb is usually called present perfect indicative because there is also a present perfect subjunctive, but don’t panic this second present perfect is much easier to learn. Remember to contact your tutor with any question you have or to ask for more homework. Don’t you have a Spanish personal tutor yet?
Thank you for a very helpful summary! The present perfect can be a confusing topic so this page is extremely useful 🙂
Gracias, Poojan ¿Has visto también el vídeo que acompaña la unidad?
people, you are the BEST !!