The Present Perfect Tense

The Present Perfect tense (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) is used to talk about past actions that are connected to the present.

How to Form the Present Perfect

It's a compound tense, meaning it has two parts:

Present tense of the verb 'haber' + Past Participle

1. Conjugate 'haber' (to have):

   • yo he
   • tú has
   • él/ella/usted ha
   • nosotros/nosotras hemos
   • vosotros/vosotras habéis
   • ellos/ellas/ustedes han

2. Form the Past Participle:

   • For -ar verbs, drop the -ar and add -ado. (e.g., hablar → hablado)
   • For -er and -ir verbs, drop the -er or -ir and add -ido. (e.g., comer → comido, vivir → vivido)

Example: "I have talked." → "Yo he hablado."

When to Use It

Use the Present Perfect for actions that happened in a time frame that is not yet over. Look for words like:

• hoy (today)
• esta semana (this week)
• este mes (this month)
• alguna vez (ever)
• nunca (never)

Example: "Hemos estudiado mucho esta semana." (We have studied a lot this week.) The week is not over yet.

A Note on Irregular Verbs

Some common verbs have irregular past participles (e.g., ver → visto, hacer → hecho, escribir → escrito). You'll encounter these in your reading, but don't worry about them for now. This drill focuses only on the regular patterns to help you build a solid foundation.