Present perfect (pretérito perfecto)
A2Grammar path · Lesson 24 of 86 · Stage A2 · The past
You use the present perfect to talk about life experiences, things you have or have not done up to now, and what happened in a time period that is not over, like today or this year. The core idea: the action is finished, but the time frame still reaches the present. It is built with haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, han) plus a participle ending in -ado / -ido, for example he hablado, han comido. It is often confused with the preterite: if there is a closed time marker like ayer or el año pasado, use the preterite instead.
Practise this lesson · 9 sentences
Form
sujeto + haber (he/has/ha/hemos/han) + participiosujeto + no + haber + participio¿haber + participio + complemento?When to use it
Life experiences
Use it to ask or say whether you have ever done something, without saying when. It often goes with alguna vez and nunca.
Done or not done up to now
Use it with ya and todavía no to say whether something is already done or still not done at the moment of speaking.
A time period that is not over
Use it when the action falls inside a period that is still going on, like today, this year or lately.
Haber + past participle (hablar → hablado, comer → comido)
Signal words
Don't confuse it with
Frequently asked questions
How do you form the present perfect in Spanish?
Use haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, han) plus a participle. -ar verbs take -ado, -er/-ir verbs take -ido: hablado, comido, vivido.
What are the common irregular participles?
The most frequent are hecho (hacer), dicho (decir), visto (ver), escrito (escribir), puesto (poner), vuelto (volver), abierto (abrir) and roto (romper).
Does the participle agree with the subject?
No. In this tense the participle always ends in -o: ellas han llegado, never han llegadas.
Where do pronouns like lo or me go in the present perfect?
Pronouns go before haber and never between haber and the participle: Ya lo he visto.
When do I use he comido and when comí?
Use he comido when the time period is still open or no time is given. Use comí with a finished time like ayer; in Latin America comí is also used for things that just happened.