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 week, month, year, etc.

¿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 hemos

has habéis

ha han

estudiado estudiado

estudiado estudiado

estudiado estudiado

Now you try…

he ________ hemos _______

has ________ habéis ________

ha ________ han ________

On a sheet of paper, see if you can figure

out the present perfect forms for the verb

hablar:

he hablado hemos hablado

has hablado habéis hablado

ha hablado han hablado

Is this what you came up with?

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 creer → creído

leer → leído oír → oído

reír → reído 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