Download Lesson 64 Notes

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In this edition:
introducing the
perfect tense
Lesson 64
Notes
He visitado España
I have visited Spain
Programme Notes
Coffee Break Spanish notes guide you through the content of each lesson. In this lesson we
introduce the perfect tense.
Talking about the past
In previous episodes of Coffee Break Spanish we’ve learned about the preterite and imperfect
tenses. By now you should be familiar with the fact that the preterite tense is used as a narrative
tense in the past for single actions, and the imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing, repeated
actions. There is another tense which is used for specific situations in the past: the perfect tense.
Forming the perfect tense
To begin with, let’s consider briefly the main way in which the perfect tense is translated. Consider
the following example:
he cantado una canción
I have sung a song
The perfect tense has two elements. The first element is a part of the ‘auxiliary’ verb haber. In the
example above, he comes from haber. We’ll come to this later. The second element of the tense is the
past participle. In the example above, the past participle is cantado, meaning ‘sung’. Forming the
past participle of regular verbs is extremely easy.
Forming the past participle
cantar
cantado
beber
bebido
vivir
vivido
Note that with -ar verbs you must remove the -ar and add the ending -ado. With both -er and -ir verbs, you
take off this ending and add -ido. Some verbs have irregular past participles, but we will come to these in
lesson 65.
As we explained, the first element of the perfect tense is a part of the verb haber. This verb literally
means “to have”, but it is only used as part of this tense. If you want to say “I have a brother” you
always use tengo (< tener). Haber is used therefore as the “have” of “I have done”, etc. Since haber is
used to “help” us form the perfect tense, it is referred to as an auxiliary verb.
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 64
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haber (to have (done something)) - PRESENT
he
hemos
has
habéis
ha
han
Conjugating some verbs in the perfect tense
We can now consider the full conjugation of some verbs in the perfect tense. Remember: you
require both the part of haber (the ‘auxiliary’ verb) and the past participle.
cantar (to sing) - PERFECT
he cantado
hemos cantado
has cantado
habéis cantado
ha cantado
han cantado
estudiar (to study) - PERFECT
he estudiado
hemos estudiado
has estudiado
habéis estudiado
ha estudiado
han estudiado
comer (to eat) - PERFECT
he comido
hemos comido
has comido
habéis comido
ha comido
han comido
decidir (to decide) - PERFECT
he decidido
hemos decidido
has decidido
habéis decidido
ha decidido
han decidido
Using the perfect tense
The most common use of the perfect tense is when it is used to translate “to have done
something”. It is used in a number of other situations which we will cover in future lessons. Listed
below are the examples which were used in the lesson.
he comprado una casa
I have bought a house
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 64
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has comprado una casa
you have bought a house
Miguel ha comprado una casa
Miguel has bought a house
Teresa ha comprado una casa
Teresa has bought a house
hemos comprado una casa
we have bought a house
habéis comprado una casa
you (plural, Spain) have bought a house
han comprado una casa
they have bought a house
ustedes han comprado una casa
you (formal, plural) have bought a house
It’s extremely important that you understand that the past participle does not agree with gender
and number. It’s haber which changes. Regardless of who has bought the house, comprado never
changes its ending.
Further examples
In the podcast, both Mark and Kara talked about what they’ve been doing. The phrases used are
listed below and are in answer to the question ¿qué has hecho hoy? which means “what have you done
today?”
Spanish
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 64
English
he trabajado mucho
I have worked lots / a lot
he estudiado
I have studied
he hablado con mi amiga
I have spoken with/to my friend
he comido paella
I have eaten paella
he preparado algunos
materiales para el podcast
I have prepared some materials
for the podcast
he jugado con mis dos hijos
I have played with my two sons
he hecho muchas cosas
I have done lots of things
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