Download Present Perfect

El presente
perfecto
Español III
Simple Past vs. Present Perfect


Use the simple past for action that
happened in the past and is:
over, done, finished!
Use the present perfect for action that
started in the past, but . . .
is still true today.

The simple past always refers to an
action or situation that is finished.
The present perfect connects the
past and the present. It is used to show
that an action or situation in the past:
-continues today, OR
-might happen again

Compare the meaning of these two
sentences:
1. Sara lived in Boston for 5 years.
2. Sara has lived in Boston for 5 years.
The first sentence uses:
Simple Past
The second sentence uses:
Present Perfect
Sara lived in Boston for 5 years.
Meaning: by using the simple past
tense, we mean that Sara started
living in Boston 5 years ago . . .
AND . . . then she moved!
Now she lives in a different city, like
Paris.
Remember, the simple past is used
for a situation that is over, finished,
done!
Sara has lived in Boston for 5 years.
Meaning: by using the present perfect
tense, we mean that Sara began living
in Boston 5 years ago . . .
AND . . . she still lives there.
Remember, present perfect:
connects the past with the present.

•
•
•
•
•
Use the simple
past with time
words like:
yesterday
last Saturday, week,
month, year, etc.
_______ ago
when I was…
in 1990 (past date)
Use the present
perfect with
time words like:
•recently/lately
•since …
•so far this
etc.
week, month, year,
¿Qué es el presente perfecto?
The present perfect is formed by
combining a helping verb (“have” or
“has”) with the past participle
Por ejemplo…

For example:
 I have played tennis.
 She has sung at weddings.
 We have flown in a plane.
Para formar in inglés

To form the present participle we combine the
helping verb “have/has” with a past participle
 For example, “I have been a lifeguard.”
 “I” is the subject
 “have” is the helping verb
 “been” is the past participle
Para formar en español

In Spanish we form the present participle by
combining the present tense of the verb haber
(the helping verb, or el verbo auxiliar) with a past
participle

For example:
 Yo he bailado.
I have danced.
 Nosotros
no hemos estudiado para el examen.
We haven’t studied for the test.
The present tense of haber
he
hemos
has
habéis
ha
han
Remember…
How to form the past participle:
 For –ar verbs, take the stem of the verb and add
–ado
Example: comprar → comprado
 For –er and –ir verbs, take the stem of the verb
and add –ido
Example: tener → tenido
Para formar…
Here are the present perfect forms of estudiar:
he estudiado
hemos estudiado
has estudiado
habéis estudiado
ha estudiado
han estudiado
…with the past participle of estudiar
he estudiado
hemos estudiado
has estudiado
habéis estudiado
ha estudiado
han estudiado
Now you try…
On a sheet of paper, see if you can figure
out the present perfect forms for the verb
hablar:
he ________
hemos _______
has ________
habéis ________
ha ________
han ________
Is this what you came up with?
he hablado
hemos hablado
has hablado
habéis hablado
ha hablado
han hablado
Now let’s try an –er verb
See if you can come up with the present perfect
forms for comer:
__ ______
_____ ______
___ ______
______ ______
__ ______
___ ______
Is this what you came up with?
he comido
hemos comido
has comido
habéis comido
ha comido
han comido
Let’s try another one…see if you can come up
with the present perfect tense of ir:
__ ___
_____ ___
___ ___
______ ___
__ ___
___ ______
Is this what you came up with?
he ido
hemos ido
has ido
habéis ido
ha ido
han ido
Many of you may have assumed that ir had an
irregular past participle. Afterall, it does have an
irregular present participle. But ir is actually
regular in this tense. Here are some verbs that
are irregular in the past participle:
Not exactly irregular but…
-er and –ir verbs whose stems end in a vowel
have past participles ending in –ído
caer → caído
leer → leído
reír → reído
creer → creído
oír → oído
traer → traído
Irregulars
The following verbs have irregular past
participles ending in –to:
abrir → abierto
cubrir → cubierto
descubrir → descubierto escribir → escrito
morir → muerto
poner → puesto
romper → roto
ver → visto
volver → vuelto
More irregulars
These verbs have irregular past participles
ending in –cho:
decir → dicho
hacer → hecho
¡Practicamos!
See if you can form the correct present perfect using
the subject and verb given.
Modelo: yo / decidir → He decidido
1. ella / abrir
Ha abierto
2. Marta y yo / tocar
Hemos tocado
3. Gonzalo / crecer
Ha crecido
4. Tú y tus amigos / reír
Han reído
5. Mis padres / hacer
Han hecho
6. Tus abuelos / cubrir
Han cubierto
7. Rogelio y Ramón / escribir
Han escrito