A guide to the present perfect tense in Spanish

As you progress in your Spanish language journey, you’ll start learning tenses beyond the simple present and past. One tense that Spanish speakers often rely on in daily conversation is the present perfect tense. You may have come across it in your high school Spanish class, but it’s worth a review. After all, this is the tense that allows you to talk about past events with clarity.

In this guide, we’ll define the Spanish present perfect tense and discuss how to use it. We’ll also review some examples to get you more comfortable with it.

• What is the present perfect tense in Spanish? 
• How to use the present perfect tense in Spanish
• Examples of present perfect tense in Spanish

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What is the present perfect tense in Spanish?

The present perfect tense in English and Spanish is used in the same way. To start out, let’s quickly review the present perfect in English. The formula in English is as follows: auxiliary have/has + past participle + details. 

• I have worked all day. 

The construction of the present perfect tense in Spanish follows a similar formula: present tense of haber + past participle + details.

He trabajado todo el día. (I have worked all day.)

• He comido. (I have eaten.) 

Haber is a helping verb, or auxiliary verb, that means “to have.” Here’s how to conjugate haber:

Spanish pronoun	Present tense of haber
yo	he
tú	has
él/ella	ha
usted	ha
nosotros	hemos
ustedes	han
ellos/ellas	han

The next part of our formula is the past participle. This part is simple.

• Regular verbs that end in –ar add –ado. So, hablar becomes hablado

Regular verbs that end in –er or –ir add –ido. So, comer becomes comido and dormir becomes dormido.

Of course, Spanish has some irregular verbs. Some common ones are listed below, along with their irregular past participles:

English	Spanish	Past participle
to say	decir	dicho
to go	ir	ido
to do, to make	hacer	hecho
to put	poner	puesto
to see	ver	visto

How to use the present perfect tense in Spanish

When do we use the present perfect tense in Spanish? 

1. To describe an action that started in the past and continues in the present. 

• They have lived in Chicago since 2000. (Han vivido en Chicago desde el año 2000.) Note: They still live in Chicago.

2. To describe an action that happened during a specific period of time that is not yet definitively concluded. 

• She has been to the gym three times this week. (Ha ido al gimnasio tres veces esta semana.) Note: The week is not over yet; she could go to the gym more.

3. To describe a repeated action that took place during an unspecified period between the past and the current moment. 

• I have visited Spain many times. (He ido a España muchas veces.) Note: It’s unclear when I went to Spain, but it was at some point between the past and now.

4. To describe an action completed in the recent past. 

• We just finished our work. (Justo hemos terminado nuestro trabajo.)

5. To describe an action that was completed in the past and the time frame is not important. 

• You have read the Bible. (Has leído la Biblia.)  

Examples of present perfect tense in Spanish

There are some time-related words and phrases that are often used with the present perfect tense in Spanish. These include the Spanish words for:

• today
• this morning 
• this afternoon
• this evening
• recently
• this week
• this month
• this year
• never
• already
• still

Watch for these phrases as clues for when to use this tense. Remember that these time-related phrases can appear at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

Let’s review a few examples: 

English	Spanish
Today I went to the store.	Hoy, he ido a la tienda.
I went to the park this afternoon.	He ido al parque esta tarde.
This month my parents have been very busy.	Este mes mis padres han estado muy ocupados.
Recently they have met some really nice people.	Recientemente, han conocido gente muy amable.
He has never tried papaya.	Nunca ha probado la papaya.
I still haven’t been to the new restaurant.	Todavía no he ido al restaurante nuevo.

Why not just use the past tense in these cases? Technically, it would still be correct. 

The key is that your story is referencing a connection to the present tense. Using the present perfect tense in Spanish allows you to talk about events in the past with clarity and sophistication. In this case, it tells the listener that there is more to the story. 

Consider these two ways to tell the same story:

• Past tense only: Hoy, fui a la tienda. Desafortunadamente, la tienda estaba cerrada y fui a otra tienda en otra ciudad. (English: Today I went to the store. Unfortunately, the store was closed and I went to another store in another city.) 
• Present perfect tense: Hoy, he ido a la tienda. Desafortunadamente, la tienda estaba cerrada y he tenido que ir a otra tienda en otra ciudad. (English: Today I went to the store. Unfortunately, the store was closed and I had to go to another store in another city.) 

The present perfect tense in Spanish allows the storyteller to convey the inconvenience more than the version written strictly in the past tense.

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Today you have learned something new

Hoy has aprendido algo nuevo. (Today you have learned something new.) The present perfect tense in Spanish is an important tense for storytelling, which is a major part of a typical conversation. Whether at work or with friends, we are often chatting about past actions. Try it next time you are chatting with your Spanish-speaking friends. Or, work it into a conversation during your next Spanish class!

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