Irregular participles: hecho, dicho, visto…
Ten common verbs have an irregular participle. Learn them once and you can talk about everything you’ve done.
Theory
These replace the regular -ado / -ido. Everything else about the present perfect stays the same.
The ten to learn
| Verb | Participle |
|---|---|
| hacer | hecho |
| decir | dicho |
| ver | visto |
| escribir | escrito |
| poner | puesto |
| volver | vuelto |
| abrir | abierto |
| romper | roto |
| morir | muerto |
| descubrir | descubierto |
Talking about experiences
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué has hecho hoy? | What have you done today? |
| He visto esa película tres veces. | I’ve seen that film three times. |
| Nunca he escrito un poema. | I’ve never written a poem. |
| Se ha roto el vaso. | The glass has broken. |
| Todavía no han vuelto. | They haven’t come back yet. |
Family members follow
describir → descrito = to describe → described
devolver → devuelto = to give back → given back
deshacer → deshecho = to undo → undone
Accent on -ído
leído, creído, oído, traído = read, believed, heard, brought
As adjectives they agree
La puerta está abierta. = The door is open.
Los vasos están rotos. = The glasses are broken.
With haber they don’t
Ella ha abierto la puerta. = She has opened the door.
The key question
¿Qué has hecho hoy? = What have you done today?
Experience words
una vez, dos veces, muchas veces, nunca = once, twice, many times, never
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