Using compound verb tenses helps us express nuance regarding actions that have taken place in different times. While it is challenging to use compound tenses, they enhance our communication and make our speech more sophisticated, so they are worth the effort!
1. Los tiempos compuestos
What are they?
Compound verb tenses use two verbs (an auxiliary and the verb). In English the auxiliary is “to have” and in Spanish it is “haber”
I have eaten – Yo he comido
I had danced – Yo había bailado
What are they called?
We will look at six: present perfect, future perfect, pluperfect, conditional perfect, present perfect subjunctive, pluperfect subjunctive. If you learned Spanish at home chances are you already use some of them without knowing what they are called. If you learned Spanish in a classroom setting, you will probably remember learning them.
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2. El verbo “haber” como auxiliar
To construct our perfect tenses we need to be comfortable conjugating our auxiliary verb “haber” in six simple tenses: present, future, imperfect, conditional, present subjunctive and imperfect subjunctive
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3. El pasado participio para formar los tiempos perfectos
Just like in English, perfect tenses are formed by two verbs. The first one is “haber” and the second one is in a form called the past participle. In English they are the verbs that end in “ed” for example:
I have painted
She has danced
We had played
Sometimes in English there are irregular past participles like:
I have drawn
She has eaten
We had spent
They had understood
The past participle in Spanish
In Spanish the past participle are the verbs that end in “ido” and “ado”
Yo he comido
Ella ha bailado
Nosotros hemos cantado
Sometimes there are irregular ones, and we should remember them!
Abrir → abierto
Decir → dicho
Escribir → escrito
Cubrir → cubierto
Hacer → hecho
Morir → muerto
Poner → puesto
Resolver → resuelto
Romper → roto
Ver → visto
Volver →vuelto
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes algo para practicar. Debes lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
This unit “Subjuntivo: Los tiempos compuestos” was created by Alegría Ribadeneira by combining original material and sections about verbs from Spanish411.net, licensed CC BY-NC-SA and Spanish Grammar Manual by Enrique Yépez licensed CC BY-NC-SA.