Lección 15: The Present Perfect

Vocabulary and grammar rules for the Spanish present perfect tense and related constructions from Lección 15.

Present perfect indicative tense (el pretérito perfecto de indicativo)

A tense used to talk about what someone has done, formed with the present tense of haber and a past participle.

Present indicative of haber (Singular)

yo he, tú has, Ud./él/ella ha

Present indicative of haber (Plural)

nosotros/as hemos, vosotros/as habéis, Uds./ellos/ellas han

acabar de + [infinitive]

A structure used to say that someone has just done something (e.g., Juan acaba de llegar).

Past participle agreement rule

The participle agrees with the noun when functioning as an adjective, but not when it is part of the present perfect tense.

Placement of 'no' and pronouns

The word no and any object or reflexive pronouns are placed immediately before haber.

Word separation in present perfect

Haber and the past participle cannot be separated by any word (e.g., Siempre hemos vivido).

Haber vs. Tener

Haber is used as an auxiliary verb to form compound tenses, while tener is used as a main verb to indicate possession.

ha habido

The present perfect form of hay, meaning 'there has been' or 'there have been'.