ESPAÑOL 3 / Instructor: Gonzalo Díaz-Letelier

Department of Hispanic Studies, University of California Riverside

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

The present perfect tense is an English verb tense used for past actions that are related to or continue
into the present (it is used to show an action that happened in the past that is directly related to the
present, such as actions that are still continuing or that indicate a change over time). It’s easily recognized
by the auxiliary verb to have, for example:

I have gone fishing since I was a child

[subject + have + past participle verb + complements]

Yo he ido a pescar desde que era niño

[subject + haber + past participle verb + complements]

The present perfect tense is a compound tense (a mix of temporalities, in this case: past and present).
Don’t let the name confuse you —even though the word “present” is there, the present perfect tense
deals with actions that happened or started in the past.
 Present perfect tense for statements

For general statements, the most common use of the present perfect, use have plus the past participle
form of the main verb:

Carla ha regalado sus libros a Guillermo.

Carla has given her books to Guillermo.

Present perfect tense for negatives

In English, to use the present perfect tense in the negative, simply add the negative word
(like not or never) after the auxiliary verb but before the past participle:

I have not slept well since exams started.

subject + [have] + [negative] + [past participle] + complements

My friend from Bolivia has never seen the ocean.

subject + [have] + [negative] + [past participle] + complements

In Spanish, to use the present perfect tense in the negative, simply add the negative word
(like no or nunca) before the auxiliary verb and the past participle:

Yo no he dormido bien desde que empezaron los exámenes.

subject + [negative] + [have] + [past participle] + complements

Mi amiga de Bolivia nunca ha visto el océano.

subject + [negative] + [have] + [past participle] + complements
This construction works for neither/nor sentences, too:

It’s 11 in the morning, and she has neither eaten breakfast nor gotten dressed.
complement + subject + [have] + [negative1] + [past participle 1] + [negative2] + [past participle 2] +
complements

Son las 11 de la mañana y no ha desayunado ni se ha vestido.

complement + subject + [negative1] + [have] + [past participle 1] + [negative2] + [have] + [past participle
2] + complements

Present perfect tense for questions

In English, when asking a question in the present perfect tense, the auxiliary verb comes first, followed by
the subject, and then the past participle of the main verb. This follows a similar construction as questions
with the auxiliary verb do, which also comes before the subject.

Have you eaten dinner yet?

[have] + [subject] + [past participle]

Has the party started?

[have] + [subject] + [past participle]

In Spanish, when asking a question in the present perfect tense, you can elide the subject, then, the
auxiliary verb comes first, followed by the past participle of the main verb.

¿(Tú) Has comido la cena ya?

[subject] + [have] + [past participle]

¿Ha comenzado la fiesta?

[have] + [past participle] + [subject]

Present perfect tense with adverbs

In English, although you can still use adverbs after the main verb (as you do normally), with the present
perfect tense you can also place the adverb between the auxiliary verb and the past participle.

They have gradually advanced their career from cashier to senior manager.

All the guests have already arrived.

[have] + [adverb] + [past participle]

In Spanish, the adverb is placed before or after the auxiliary (have) and main (participle) verbs.

(Ellos) Han avanzado gradualmente en su carrera de cajero a gerente general.

[have] + [past participle] + [adverb]

Todos los invitados ya han llegado.

[adverb] + [have] + [past participle]