In Spanish, the present perfect tense is conjugated by using the present tense of haber as the auxiliary verb, followed by the past participle for the main verb.
Ya he comido. I have eaten already.
Use the following conjugations of haber for the present perfect tense.
yo he… I have
tú has… you have
él/ella/usted ha… he/she has.. you have
nosotros hemos… we have
vosotros habéis… you all have
ellos/ellas/ustedes han… they/ you all have
**Click here for a review of the past participle.
The present perfect is used to refer to actions that are viewed as completed in the past but are still having an effect on the present.
Hemos comprado los boletos a Madrid. We’ve bought the tickets to Madrid.
Alicia ha estudiado mucho por el examen. Alicia has studied a lot for the exam.
The present perfect may also be used in the subjunctive in a subordinate clause.
Espero que ya hayan llegado. I hope they have already arrived.
El profesor duda que hayamos hecho la tarea. The professor doubts that we have done the homework.
Subjunctive conjugations:
yo haya… I have
tú hayas… you have
él/ella/usted haya… he/she has.. you have
nosotros hayamos… we have
vosotros hayáis… you all have
ellos/ellas/ustedes hayan… they/ you all have
Unlike in English when the auxiliary “have” and the main verb cannot be separated in the present perfect, in Spanish, haber and the past participle must stay together.
Ellos ya han hecho la tarea. They have already done the homework.
Los niños no han comido. The children have not eaten.
Since the auxiliary and main verb cannot be separated, object pronouns as well as reflexive pronouns must be placed before haber.
Mis padres me han dado buenos regalos. My parents have given me good gifts.
¿Te has cepillado los dientes? Have you brushed your teeth?