Perfect Tenses
Perfect tenses are formed using the auxiliary verbhaberfollowed by the past participle of the main verb.
Vocabulary
Formation
The past participle is formed by adding-adoto-arverbs and-idoto-erand-irverbs.
Usage
Perfect tenses are used to indicate that an action is viewed in relation to another time (present, past, or future).
Present Perfect (el pretérito perfecto)
Usage
- To express actions that have recently occurred or have relevance to the present.
Formation
- he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han+ past participle
Example
Past Perfect (el pluscuamperfecto)
Usage
- To indicate an action that had happened before another past action.
Formation
- había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían+ past participle
Example
Future Perfect (el futuro perfecto)
Usage
- To express an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future.
Formation
- habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán+ past participle
Example
Conditional Perfect (el condicional perfecto)
Usage
- To express an action that would have occurred under certain conditions.
Formation
- habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían+ past participle
Example
Summary
Perfect tenses in Spanish are used to describe completed actions with respect to different times: the present (present perfect), a point in the past (past perfect), a future deadline (future perfect), or hypothetical conditions (conditional perfect).
Get Started
Track your progress, chat with the AI, access more exercises.
Last updated: Thu Jul 17, 2025