Past Participle in Spanish: How to form it and when to use it

Past participle in Spanish

To form the past participle in Spanish, or the participio, of verbs, simply drop the infinitive (-ar/-er/-ir) endings from the verb and add -ado for -ar verbs and -ido for -er/-ir verbs.

  • hablar > hablado
  • beber > bebido
  • vivir > vivido

An accent mark is used when a past participle has a combination of the following vowels; ai, ei, or oi.

  • creer > creído
  • leer > leído
  • oír > oído
  • traer > traído

There are several verbs that are irregular in the past participle.

  • abrir > abierto
  • cubrir > cubierto
  • decir > dicho
  • escribir > escrito
  • hacer > hecho
  • morir > muerto
  • poner > puesto
  • resolver > resuelto
  • romper > roto
  • ver > visto
  • volver > vuelto

The past participle is used to turn any verb into an adjective.  This means that it must agree in number and gener with the noun it modifies.  For example:

El libro está abierto en la mesa.

  • The book is open on the table

La tienda está cerrada.

  • The store is closed.

Las ventanas están rotas.

  • The windows are broken.

Los ensayos están escritas.

  • The essays are written.

The past participle is also used as the main verb in the perfect tenses.

Ya hemos comido.

  • We have already eaten.

La película ya había empezado cuando llegaron.

  • The movie had already started when they arrived.

 Learn more about common perfect tenses in Spanish: Conditional Perfect in Spanish, Future Perfect in SpanishPast Perfect in SpanishPresent Perfect in Spanish,

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