The present perfect: he hablado
He comido, has trabajado: the present perfect talks about the past that still feels connected to now.
Theory
haber in the present + a participle (-ado / -ido).
haber + participle
| Who | haber | + participle |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he | hablado |
| tú | has | comido |
| él / ella / usted | ha | vivido |
| nosotros/as | hemos | estado |
| vosotros/as | habéis | tenido |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | han | salido |
When to use it
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Today | Hoy he comido paella. | I’ve had paella today. |
| This week / year | Esta semana hemos trabajado mucho. | We’ve worked a lot this week. |
| Experiences | ¿Has estado en México? | Have you been to Mexico? |
| Never | Nunca he probado el pulpo. | I’ve never tried octopus. |
Making the participle
-ar → -ado:
hablado = spoken
-er / -ir → -ido:
comido, vivido = eaten, lived
The participle never changes
Ella ha comido. = She has eaten.
Ellos han comido. = They have eaten.
Nothing in between
No lo he visto. = I haven’t seen it.
Pronouns and no go before haber.
In Spain: today, this week…
Hoy he comido. = I’ve had lunch today.
but Ayer comí. = I had lunch yesterday.
Signal words
hoy, esta mañana, este año, nunca, ya, todavía no = today, this morning, this year, never, already, not yet
Latin America
Often uses the preterite instead:
Hoy comí. = I had lunch today.
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