Download Los tiempos perfectos (The Perfect Tenses)

1
The Perfect Tenses of the Indicative
The perfect tenses (tiempos perfectos) or compound tenses (tiempos compuestos) have
two parts: the auxiliary verb (verbo auxiliar) haber plus a past participle (participio
pasado). Each simple tense of the indicative has a corresponding perfect tense, which
means there are five perfect tenses in the indicative:
Simple Tenses
Present (presente)
Imperfect (imperfecto)
Preterit (pretérito)
Future (futuro)
Conditional (condicional)
Perfect or Compound Tenses
Present perfect (pretérito perfecto)
Past perfect or pluperfect (pluscuamperfecto)
Preterit perfect (pretérito anterior)
Future perfect (futuro perfecto)
Conditional perfect (condicional perfecto).
They are “perfect” or “perfective” because they express a completed action or state.
• The auxiliary verb
The first part of the perfect tenses is a form of haber conjugated in the present, the
imperfect, the preterit, the future or the conditional.
• The past participle
The second part is the masculine singular form of the past participle of the verb we are
conjugating.
Regular past participles are obtained by removing the ending of the infinitive (-ar, -er, ir) and adding –ado (to first-conjugation verbs) and –ido (to second- and thirdconjugation verbs): cantado, comido, vivido. Second- and third-conjugation verbs whose
stem ends in a, e, or o will need an accent mark over the –i- in order to break the
diphthong: traer -> traído, leer -> leído, oír -> oído, (son)reír -> (son)reído. This is not
the case with verbs whose stem ends in u: destruir -> destruido.
Irregular past participles may have different stems or different endings. Here are some of
the most common ones (the verbs in the second column are formed on the verbs on the
first column and follow the same patterns):
abrir
cubrir
abierto
cubierto
opened
closed, shut
decir
dicho
said, told
escribir
escrito
written
hacer
morir
poner
hecho
muerto
puesto
done, made
died, dead
put, placed, set
descubrir
encubrir
contradecir
predecir
describir
prescribir
deshacer
descubierto
encubierto
contradicho
predicho
descrito
prescrito
deshecho
discovered
covered up
contradicted
foretold
described
prescribed
unmade
anteponer
deponer
antepuesto
depuesto
put before
deposed
2
romper
ver
volver
roto
visto
vuelto
broken, torn
seen
returned
imponer
oponer
suponer
impuesto
opuesto
supuesto
imposed
opposed
supposed
prever
devolver
previsto
devuelto
foreseen
returned
Present Perfect (Pretérito perfecto)
Form
The present tense of haber plus the masculine singular form of the past participle:
he hablado
has hablado
ha hablado
hemos hablado
habéis hablado
han hablado
I have spoken
you have spoken
he/she has spoken
we have spoken
you have spoken
they have spoken
Uses
The present perfect is used to indicate an action or state that has taken place —has been
completed— before the present, like in English.
Nosotros hemos viajado mucho.
Siempre he sido una buena estudiante.
Hoy he desayunado muy bien.
We have traveled a lot.
I have always been a good student.
Today I have had a good breakfast.
Today I had a good breakfast.
In some cases, different communities of speakers may favor the present perfect over the
preterit, or the other way around.
Beware:
1) Expressions of the type “have been –ing” are not rendered in Spanish with a present
perfect, as we have seen before, but with a present and the time expressions desde hace or
hace…que, or with the present tense of llevar + time expression + gerund, as in the
examples below:
I have worked here for 6 years.
Hace 6 años que trabajo aquí.
Trabajo aquí desde hace 6 años.
Llevo 6 años trabajando aquí.
3
2) Expressions of the type “have just (done something)” are not rendered in Spanish with
a present perfect, but with the present tense of the verb acabar (“to finish, to end”) + de +
an infinitive:
I have just seen Frida.
Acabo de ver Frida.
Pluperfect or Past Perfect (Pluscuamperfecto)
Form
The imperfect of haber plus the masculine singular form of the past participle:
había hablado
habías hablado
había hablado
habíamos hablado
habíais hablado
habían hablado
I had spoken
you had spoken
he/she had spoken
we had spoken
you had spoken
they had spoken
Uses
The pluperfect is normally the past of a past action (usually expressed in the preterit, the
imperfect, or the present perfect), just like in English, as illustrated by the following
examples:
Mi madre me dijo que ya había comprado la fruta.
My mother told me that she had already bought the fruit.
Mi padre me decía que ya había sufrido mucho en su vida.
My father used to tell me that he had already suffered a lot in his life.
Mi amiga me ha dicho que habían cerrado la tienda.
My friend has told me that they had closed the store.
Beware:
1) Expressions of the type “had been –ing” are not rendered in Spanish with a pluperfect,
as we have seen before, but with an imperfect and the time expressions desde hacía or
hacía…que, or with the imperfect of llevar + time expression + gerund, as in the
examples below:
I had worked there for 6 years.
Hacía 6 años que trabajaba allí.
Trabajaba allí desde hacía 6 años.
Llevaba 6 años trabajando allí.
4
2) Expressions of the type “had just (done something)” are not rendered in Spanish with a
pluperfect, but with the imperfect of the verb acabar (“to finish, to end”) + de + an
infinitive:
I had just seen Frida.
Acababa de ver Frida.
Preterit Perfect (Pretérito anterior)
Form
The preterit of haber plus the masculine singular form of the past participle:
hube hablado
hubiste hablado
hubo hablado
hubimos hablado
hubisteis hablado
hubieron hablado
I had spoken
you had spoken
he/she had spoken
we had spoken
you had spoken
they had spoken
Uses
This tense is generally limited to written Spanish. You will probably never use it,
although you should learn to recognize it when you see it in newspapers, novels, etc. Its
meaning is virtually identical to that of the pluperfect.
El asesino procedió a descuartizar a su víctima una vez que la hubo matado.
The killer proceeded to quarter his victim once he had killed him/her.
Future Perfect (Futuro perfecto)
Form
The future of haber plus the masculine singular form of the past participle:
habré hablado
habrás hablado
habrá hablado
habremos hablado
habréis hablado
habrán hablado
I will have spoken
you will have spoken
he/she will have spoken
we will have spoken
you will have spoken
they will have spoken
5
Uses
1. The future perfect in Spanish is used just like in English, to convey an action or a state
that will have been done in the future:
Mañana habré terminado mi novela.
Tomorrow I will have finished my novel.
Para el 2150 habremos destruido el planeta. By 2150 we will have destroyed the planet.
2. The future perfect can express probability or conjecture in the past (just like the future
can express probability or conjecture in the present):
¿Qué habrán comido los niños?
I wonder what the children have eaten / ate.
Son las 5: papá y mamá ya habrán llegado. It’s 5: mom and dad must have arrived by
now.
Conditional Perfect (Condicional perfecto)
Form
The conditional of haber plus the masculine singular form of the past participle:
habría hablado
habrías hablado
habría hablado
habríamos hablado
habríais hablado
habrían hablado
I would have spoken
you would have spoken
he/she would have spoken
we would have spoken
you would have spoken
they would have spoken
Uses
You will encounter this tense mostly in the main clause of conditional sentences whose
subordinate clause has a pluperfect subjunctive:
Mi madre me habría mandado a una escuela pública si hubiera tenido dinero.
My mother would have sent me to a public school if she had had money.
6
Ejercicios
A) Un diario. En su diario, una niña escribe las cosas que han pasado hoy. Complétalo
con el pretérito prefecto de indicativo de los verbos en paréntesis.
Hoy yo _______________________ (dormir) hasta las 10 porque no tengo que ir al
colegio: ¡son las vacaciones de primavera! Yo _______________________ (levantarse)
tarde. Mi hermana y yo ___________________ (desayunar) cereales y
_______________________ (ir) al parque a jugar. Después del almuerzo, mis padres
________________________ (ver) una película en la televisión, mi hermana
_______________________ (leer) en su cuarto y yo _______________________ (nadar)
en la piscina del gimnasio. ¿Qué _____________________ (hacer) vosotras?
B) Form complete sentences from the phrases provided to explain what the following
people had done before they left on their trip to Panama.
1. mi novio(a) y yo / visitamos la agencia de viajes
2. la secretaria / hacer reservas en un hotel de lujo
3. yo / pagar los billetes
4. mis padres / conseguir los pasaportes
5. tú / leer una guía sobre el Canal de Panamá
C) ¿Qué habías hecho antes? You are at the university now. Talk to a friend about the
things you had done before coming to the university according to the model.
Modelo: tú / comer comida vegetariana
- ¿Tú habías comido comida vegetariana antes?
- No, yo no había comido comida vegetariana antes.
Sí, yo sí había comido comida vegetariana antes.
1. tu familia / visitar esta parte del país
2. tú / echar de menos a tu familia
3. tus padres / pasar tanto tiempo lejos de ti
4. tus profesores / hablar de filosofía tibetana
5. tú / ver un campus tan bonito
D) Completa las oraciones siguientes con la forma correcta del pluscuamperfecto del
verbo adecuado:
1. Nosotros ya ____________ __________________ cuando la policía llamó. (leer /
llegar)
2. Yo ya ____________ _________________ antes de ir a la biblioteca anoche. (comer /
ver)
3. ¿Uds. ya ____________ ________________ los billetes antes de ir a cenar? (estudiar /
comprar)
7
4. Fui a España el verano pasado, pero ____________ __________________ allí dos
veces antes. (estar / ser)
5. Ellos ya ____________ __________________ antes de salir anoche. (estudiar / cenar)
6. Tomás hizo un viaje a Perú en abril, pero antes ____________ __________________
en Ecuador. (visitar / estar)
7. Carlos vino a las diez, pero antes ____________ __________________ con Teresa
para hablar con ella. (visitar / estar)
8. Mi novio ya ____________ __________________ cuando lo llamé. (salir / dejar)
E) Traduce las oraciones siguientes a español.
1. She has published a new novel.
2. She has just published a new novel.
3. By tomorrow everyone will have heard about us.
4. They insisted that they had always told the truth.
5. Have you finished you homework yet?
6. She had promised me that she would come with.
7. Will you have paid all your bills by the time you graduate?
8. They had just left when the accident happened.
9. I have never been able to get to class on time.
10. This would never have happened, but you insisted on drinking and drinking…