The Past Tense: Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto

Don’t worry, it is not as complicated as it sounds!

The “Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto” (don’t worry, it is not as complicated as it sounds!) is a past tense that is used to describe an action that happened in the past but has not finished and also when we don’t know when something happened exactly. An example in English would be “Have you been to Florida?” (We don’t know or haven’t defined when something happened) or “I have been feeling really sad this past week” (The action started in the past but is still continuing).

The conjugations are:

“Haber” in Present + Past Participle

Yo He

Tú/Vos Has

Usted/Él/Ella Ha

Nosotros-as Hemos

Ustedes/Ellos-as Han

+ PAST PARTICIPLE

Cantar: Cantado

Comer: Comido

Vivir: Vivido

The tense is used:

1. When we are speaking about a past that is started but has

not finished.

With expressions like:

1. Últimamente (Lately)

• Este año (This year)

• Este mes (This month)

• Hoy (Today)

Example: He visto muchos animales en la calle este mes. (I have seen a lot of animals in the street this month.)

2. When we don’t know when something happened exactly:

-¿Has visto “Terminator”? (Have you seen Terminator?)

-Sí, la he visto 3 veces. (Yes, I have seen it three times.)

3. Also, usually we use this tense with “alguna vez” (ever) and “nunca” (never):

-¿Alguna vez has comido ranas? (Have you ever eaten frogs?)

-No, nunca he comido ranas./No, no he comido ranas nunca./ But: No, he nunca comido. (No, I have never eaten frogs.)

There are some Irregular Verbs as well:

• Escribir: Escrito

• Morir: Muerto

• Decir: Dicho

• Hacer: Hecho

• Ver: Visto

• Poner: Puesto

• Descubrir: Descubierto

• Abrir: Abierto

• Volver: Vuelto

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Practice Exercises (For Paid Subscribers Only)

The practice exercises below are only for paid subscribers. In them, you will find practice exercises pertaining to this lesson in the post and as an attached pdf so you can print them out. You also have the opportunity to email me at speakspanish@substack.com if you have any questions. Upgrade to a paid subscription to access the exercise and other subscriber-only benefits!

1. ¿Algunas vez (estar, vos)________ en Bariloche?