Present Perfect Tense
Usage and Examples
This is used to express what someone has done. It is generally the same as in English. He ido a Toledo. I've been to Toledo.Regular verbs There are 2 groups (-ar and -er/-ir verbs). These are present of haber + -ado (for -ar verbs) or haber + -ido (for -er/-ir verbs)
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| -ar verbs | -er/-ir verbs | |
| yo | he llegado | he salido |
| tú | has llegado | has salido |
| él, ella, Ud. | ha llegado | ha salido |
| nosotros/as | hemos llegado | hemos salido |
| vosotros/as | habéis llegado | habéis salido |
| ellos, ellas, Uds. | han llegado | han salido |
Irregular Verbs Some verbs are irregular in that the past participle does not end in -ado or -ido
| verb | present perfect | meaning |
| abrir | he abierto | I have opened |
| cubrir | he cubierto | I have covered |
| decir | he dicho | I have said |
| descubrir | he descubierto | I have discovered |
| freír | he frito | I have fried |
| hacer | he hecho | I have made/done |
| morir | ha muerto | He has died |
| poner | he puesto | I have put |
| romper | he roto | I have broken |
| ver | he visto | I have seen |
| volver | he vuelto | I have returned |
Differences in use to English
A - The present perfect is NOT used to indicate an action still in progress. To express an ongoing action that began in the past, the present tense is used: Hace dos años que vivo aquí. I've been living here for 2 years.
B - The present perfect is NOT used to express to have JUST done something. Use acabar + de + infinitive Acabamos de oír la noticia. We've just heard the news.
Practice: Present Perfect Irregular Verbs
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