Spanish Perfect Tenses
How the perfect tenses work
The Past Participle
Add a written accent when the ending follows the vowels ai, ei or oi
Common irregular participles
As an adjective, it agrees in gender and number
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 escritos. The essays are written.
Present Perfect
| Present of haber | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Ya he comido. I have eaten already.
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.
In the subjunctive (subordinate clauses)
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.
Past Perfect (Pluperfect)
| Imperfect of haber | |
|---|---|
| yo había… | I had |
| tú habías… | you had |
| él/ella/usted había… | he/she/you had |
| nosotros habíamos… | we had |
| vosotros habíais… | you all had |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes habían… | they/you all had |
Mi familia ya había comido cuando por fin llegué. My family had already eaten when I finally arrived.
Los estudiantes dijeron que ya habían hecho la tarea. The students said they had already done the homework.
In the past subjunctive
Yo quería que me hubieran esperado. I was hoping they had waited for me.
¿Dudabas que yo lo hubiera llamado? Did you doubt that I had called him?
Future Perfect
| Future of haber | |
|---|---|
| yo habré… | I will have |
| tú habrás… | you will have |
| él/ella/usted habrá… | he/she/you will have |
| nosotros habremos… | we will have |
| vosotros habréis… | you all will have |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes habrán… | they/you all will have |
Mi hermana habrá preparado la comida. My sister will have prepared the food.
Alicia habrá terminado con sus estudios. Alicia will have finished her studies.
Ellos ya se habrán comido para las ocho. They will already have eaten by eight.
Ya habré conseguido el puesto. I will have already gotten the job.
Conditional Perfect
| Conditional of haber | |
|---|---|
| yo habría… | I would have |
| tú habrías… | you would have |
| él/ella/usted habría… | he/she/you would have |
| nosotros habríamos… | we would have |
| vosotros habríais… | you all would have |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes habrían… | they/you all would have |
Habríamos comprado una casa. We would have bought a house.
Yo habría ido con ellos pero no me invitaron. I would have gone with them but they didn’t invite me.
Unreal conditions in the past
Ellos habrían escuchado si no les hubieras gritado. They would have listened if you hadn’t yelled at them.
Si hubiera tenido un coche nuevo, habría conducido por todas partes. If I had had a new car, I would have driven it all over.
