Does it seem to you that there are so many Spanish tenses that you will never master them? Don’t worry. The secret of success is to create a clear matrix in our head where each tense has its special place. First, stop trying to remember all the tenses at once. Remember the situations and the time markers for each tense. You will see that at the end of the course all the tenses will take their place in a logical and beautiful system of verb forms.
Vocabulary
In this lesson we will practice the following vocabulary. Read the words, listen to the audio and remember them:
horno
oven
harina
flour
calabaza
pumpkin
toque
touch
caviar
caviar
ración
serving
exquisito
exquisit
barriga
belly
obra de arte
piece of art
estación del año
season
globo
balloon
cartel
poster
enorme
giant
desastre
disaster
Verbos:
Verbs:
dar un susto
to scare
gritar
to scream
caer
to fall
intentar
to try
romper
to break
quemar
to burn
decorar
to decorate
saborear
to taste
llenar
to fill
fregar
to clean
cumplir (años)
to turn (that many years)
atreverse
to dare
encantar
to love something
escoger
to choose
tener en cuenta
to keep in mind
encargar
to order
encargarse de algo
to take care of something
salvar
to save
Dialogues
Listen carefully to the following Spanish dialogues. They will help you understand the grammar of this lesson:
Dialogue 1
Juaaaaaaan, ¡¿Qué has hecho?!
Juaaaaaaan, what have you done?!
Madre mía, vaya susto que me has dado, mamá. ¿Por qué gritas tanto? ¿Qué ha pasado?
Gosh, you’ve scared me, mum. Why are you screaming? What happened?
¿Has visto la cocina? ¡Parece que ha caído una bomba! El horno está negro y hay harina por todas partes. ¿Otra vez has intentado hacer una de las recetas de la tele?
Have you seen the kitchen? It looks like a bomb has fallen on it! The oven is black and there is flour all over the place. Have you tried again to make one of the recipes you saw on telly?
Sí, he estado cocinando toda la mañana y, esta vez, todo me ha salido genial. Además, no he roto ni quemado nada. O sea, todo un éxito.
Yes, I’ve been cooking all morning and this time everything has turned out amazingly. Plus I haven’t broken or burnt anything. Call it a complete sucess.
¿Y qué es lo que has preparado entonces?
So what have you cooked?
Lo he dejado todo encima de la mesa: una sopa cremosa y un pastel de calabaza. Lo he visto en un programa de cocina hoy por la mañana. A la sopa le he dado un toque oriental y el pastel lo he decorado con caviar rojo.
I left it all on the table: A creamy soup and a pumpkin pie. I saw it in a cookery show this morning. I’ve given the soup an oriental touch and have decorated the pie with red caviar.
Vamos a ver. ¿Es todo lo que ha quedado? Vaya raciones… como en un restaurante caro.
Let’s have a look. This is all that’s left? Oh dear, those servings…like at an expensive restaurant.
De eso se trata, mamá. La comida exquisita es para saborearla, no para llenar la barriga. ¿No has aprendido nada de tu hijo el cocinero?
That’s the point, mum. Exquisit food is for relishing the taste, not for filling the stomach. Haven’t you learnt anything from your son, the cook?
He aprendido que cada vez que cocina mi hijo hay que fregar la cocina entera e ir a dormir con hambre. Bueno, vamos a probar esta obra de arte.
I’ve learnt that every time my son cooks I have to clean the whole kitchen and go to sleep hungry. Anyway, let’s try this piece of art.
¡Para! ¡No lo toques! Todavía no le he sacado una foto al plato. Hay que publicarlo en mis redes sociales.
Stop! Don’t touch it. I haven’t taken a picture of the dish yet. I have to publish it in my social networks.
Dialogue 2
¿Qué te pasa, Marcos? Hoy no te he visto en clase de yoga. ¿Estás bien?
What’s up, Marcos? I haven’t seen you today at yoga class. Are you ok?
La verdad es que he perdido el interés. He perdido las ganas de hacer cosas en general.
To be honest, I’ve lost interest. I don’t feel like doing anything in general.
Parece que te ha entrado un bajón de ánimo. Eso le pasa a mucha gente en primavera.
Sounds like you’ve got the blues. This happens to many people in spring.
Pués lo mío no tiene nada que ver con la estación del año. Esta semana he cumplido 40 años y me he dado cuenta de una cosa: no he hecho nada interesante en toda mi vida. No he encontrado el trabajo de mis sueños, ni he viajado lo suficiente, ni me he casado con la chica que siempre me ha gustado…
My thing hasn’t got anything to do with the season. I’ve turned 40 this week and have realized something: I’ve never done anything interesting in my life. I haven’t found my dream job nor have I travelled enough nor have I married the girl I’ve always liked…
Jaja, eso se llama “la crisis de los cuarenta”. Tengo un amigo que ha cumplido los 40 este mes y ha estado haciendo locuras desde entonces. Se ha comprado una moto y eso que siempre le han dado miedo las motos. Y además, se ha gastado todo el dinero ahorrado en reservar un viaje a Japón.
Ha ha, this is called the “Fourties crisis”. I’ve got a friend who’s turned 40 this month and has been doing crazy stuff ever since. He’s bought a motor bike even though he has always been afraid of motor bikes. Plus he has spent all his savings on booking a trip to Japan.
Hace bien. Hay que vivir la vida. No como yo… Nunca he estado en Japón. Nunca he vivido en un país extranjero. Nunca le he dicho a mi jefe “Me voy”.
He’s doing the right thing. Life has got to be lived. Unlike me… I’ve never been to Japan. I’ve never lived in a foreign country. I’ve never told my boss “I’m leaving”.
¿Y a qué esperas? Hazlo, ¡atrévete!
So what are you waiting for? Go for it!
¿Sabes qué es lo que siempre he querido hacer y nunca lo he hecho?
Do you know what I’ve always been meaning to do but never did?
¿El qué?
What is it?
Decirte que me gustas. Y siempre me has gustado.
To tell you that I like you. I’ve always liked you.
Madre mía, Marcos. Me has dejado de piedra. La verdad es que tú siempre me has gustado a mí también…
O my God, Marcos. You’ve left me speechless. To be honest, I’ve always liked you, too.
Dialogue 3
¿Cómo van los preparativos para la fiesta de cumpleaños de vuestro abuelo? ¿Habéis organizado algo?
How are the preparations going for your grandpa’s birthday? Have you organized anything?
Por supuesto. Hemos pensado en todo. Hemos invitado a toda la familia y hemos reservado el restaurante.
Of course. We’ve thought of everything. We’ve invited the whole family and made a reservation at the restaurant.
¿Habéis comprado los adornos?
Have you bought the decoration?
Claro que sí. Hemos comprado muchos globos para decorar las mesas. Y los amigos del abuelo le han hecho un cartel enorme que dice “Feliz cumple, jovencito”.
Of course we have. We have bought a lot of balloons to decorate the tables. And granddad’s friends have written a giant poster saying “Happy birthday, young chap”.
¿Y el regalo? ¿Habéis pensado en algo?
And the present? Have you come up with something?
Este año hemos decidido hacerle un regalo muy especial. Le hemos hecho un álbum con fotos antiguas suyas. Nos ha salido fenomenal.
This year we’ve decided to give him something very special. We have made him an album with old pictures of him. It has turned out really nicely.
Veo que habéis gastado mucho tiempo en esto. Estoy segura de que le va a encantar. ¿Ya habéis escogido el menú del restaurante? Vuestra tía Carmen es vegetariana. ¿Lo habéis tenido en cuenta?
Sounds like you’ve dedicated a lot of time to it. I’m sure he will like it. Have you chosen the menu at the restaurant? Your aunt Carmen is vegetarian. Have you thought of this?
Todo está bajo control. En el restaurante me han dicho que tienen menús para vegetarianos.
We’ve got everything under control. They have told us at the restaurant that they’ve got menus for vegetarians.
¿Y la tarta? ¿La habéis encargado?
And the cake? Have you ordered it?
¡Madre mía! ¡No hemos encargado la tarta! ¡Se nos ha olvidado! ¡Qué desastre!
O my God! We haven’t ordered the cake! We forgot about that! What a disaster!
Tranquilos. Me encargo yo de la tarta. Ya sabéis que siempre me ha gustado hacer tartas.
Don’t worry. I will take care of the cake. You know that I’ve always enjoyed making cakes.
Gracias. Has salvado la fiesta.
Thank you. You’ve saved the party.
Spanish grammar
Read carefully the explanation of the grammar of this lesson:
How the perfect past tense is formed (Pretérito perfecto)
Pretérito perfecto is used to describe actions that occurred in an unfinished time period (this morning / this week / this year). To use this tense correctly, you need to be attentive to the time indicators. Pretérito perfecto is also called compuesto (compound) because it is composed of two parts: the auxiliary verb haber and the past participle. The participle is formed as follows:
- verbs ending in -ar: -ado (hablado, trabajado, comprado)
- verbs ending in -er /-ir: -ido (comido, entendido, vivido)
Below you find an overview over the complete forms of the Pretérito perfecto:
| Pronoun | -ar: hablar (to speak) | -ir: vivir (to live) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he hablado | he vivido |
| tú | has hablado | has vivido |
| él, ella, usted | ha hablado | ha vivido |
| nosotros | haemos hablado | hemos vivido |
| vosotros | habéis hablado | habéis vivido |
| ellos, ustedes | han hablado | han vivido |
Some verbs have their own individual participle. Try to memorize these irregular forms:
| verb | irregular participle | translation |
|---|---|---|
| hacer | hecho | to do |
| decir | dicho | to say |
| escribir | escrito | to write |
| freír | frito | to fry |
| imprimir | impreso | to print |
| ver | visto | to see |
| morir | muerto | to die |
| poner | puesto | to put |
| volver | vuelto | to come back |
| abrir | abierto | to open |
Please note that in the case of reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun is placed at the beginning, that is, before the verb “haber”:
- Hoy me he duchado. – I have showered today.
- Pedro se ha casado. – Pedro got married.
When to use Pretérito perfecto?
Remember the situations that require this tense:
- Things that happened today:
- Things that happened in an unfinished period of time (all expressions with the words “este, esta …”):
- Any expression with the meaning of “so far” (nunca, siempre, alguna vez, todavía no etc.):
- Expressions of closeness to the present moment (últimamante, en los últimos tiempos):
- An action that happened at some point in the past but has an effect on the present:
He vuelto a casa hace dos horas. – I came home two hours ago.
Hoy por la mañana hemos preparado un desayuno muy sano. – This morning we prepared a very healthy breakfast.
Este año se ha ido de vacaciones dos veces. – He/she has gone on holidays twice this year.
¿Qué has hecho esta semana? – What have you done this week?
Nunca he vivido en un país extranjero. – I’ve never lived in a foreign country.
Siempre ha querido decirle que la quiere. – He has always been meaning to tell her that he loved her.
Últimamente no te he visto en clases de yoga. – I haven’t seen you at yoga class lately.
En los últimos tiempos, la situación ha cambiado mucho. – The situation has changed a lot recently.
He decidido no comer carne. – I’ve decided not to eat meat (and I still don’t eat it).
El gato se ha muerto. – The cat died (and we are sad).
Attention!
The construction “estar + gerundio” can also be used in Pretérito perfecto.
The combination of “estar + gerundio” can be used in this tense. Try to get a feel for the added meaning of lasting action that this construct expresses:
- Hoy he estado cocinando toda la mañana. – I’ve been cooking all morning.
- Ha estado lloviendo toda la semana. – It has been raining all week (the week is not over yet).
The time indicator for this construction are the words “todo, toda…”: toda la semana (all THIS week, we’re talking about a period of time that hasn’t ended yet), todo el año (all THIS year).
Pretérito perfecto has many time indicators to help you know when to use this tense. Let’s combine all the indicators into one table to better memorize them:
| meaning | indicator words |
|---|---|
| everything related to today | hoy (hoy) por la mañana/ por la tarde (hoy) a las cinco y media (hoy) después de salir de casa… hace dos horas |
| phrases with the words “este, esta” | esta semana este mes este año este siglo estos días este lunes este último fin de semana |
| phrases with the meaning “up until now” | nunca siempre varias veces alguna vez ya todavía no por ahora |
| phrases expressing closeness to the moment |
hace poco hace un rato últimamante en los últimos tiempos |
Test
Check what you remember from this lesson:
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