Present Perfect Pluperfect (Past Perfect) Perfect Tenses Present Perfect Pluperfect (Past Perfect)

INTRODUCTION The perfect tenses [tiempos perfectos] are compound tenses [tiempos compuestos]; that is, they are made up of two parts, a helping verb [verbo auxiliar] and a past participle [participio pasado].

PRESENT PERFECT The present perfect tense in Spanish is formed with: The present tense of the helping verb haber, plus The past participle of the main verb. Example: Yo he terminado mi proyecto.

Nosotros hemos Vosotros habéis Ustedes han Ellos/Ellas Singular forms Plural forms Yo he Nosotros hemos Tú has Vosotros habéis Usted ha Él/Ella Ustedes han Ellos/Ellas

The past participles are normally formed by dropping the verb ending and adding: -ado for –ar verb, hablar  hablado -ido for –er and –ir verbs, comer  comido and vivir  vivido.

Variations -er and –ir verbs whose stems end in a vowel need a written accent mark: leer  leído ; oír  oído. (copy the irregular past participles from p. 46 of your book.)

Note: Compound words based on these roots typically show the same irregularities: Componer  Compuesto (repaired) Follow the same pattern to fill in the rest of the past participles.

Uses: The present perfect may be used to indicate an action or state that has been completed. It is used in almost the same way as we use it in English: I have seen that movie. He visto esa película.

Hace 4 años que vivo en Texas. Exceptions: To indicate an action that began in the past and is still going on, use the present tense: Hace 4 años que vivo en Texas. I have been living (and am still living) in Texas for 4 years.

Acabo de terminar mi proyecto. Exceptions: To express the idea of “to have just done something,” use the present tense of acabar de plus the infinitive verb: Acabo de terminar mi proyecto. I have just finished my project.

THE PAST PERFECT – el pluscuamperfecto The past perfect tense views an action or state as having occurred – and been completed – at a time before another past action, state, or time. It is used in almost exactly the same way as we use it in English. The wedding started at 3. By then, all the guests had arrived. La boda empezó a las 3. Para entonces, todos los invitados habían llegado.

THE PAST PERFECT – el pluscuamperfecto To form the Past Perfect, use the imperfect of haber plus the past participle: Yo había hablado. Tú habías hablado. Ud./él/ella había hablado. Nosotros habíamos hablado. Vosotros habíais hablado. Uds./ellos/ellas habían hablado.