The Present Perfect in Spanish: he hablado, and when to use it
He hablado: how to build it, and when Spanish uses it
The Present Perfect is the Spanish “I have spoken”: he hablado. It is built from the present of haber plus a past participle, and it is used for past actions still linked to now, or with no set time.
If you can point to exactly when something finished, yesterday or on Monday, Spanish uses the Preterite instead. And for things done earlier today, Spain uses the Present Perfect where much of Latin America prefers the Preterite.
= I have spoken
On this page
How do you build the Present Perfect?
Two parts. First, haber in the present, which changes with the person. Then the past participle, which never changes: -ar verbs take -ado, and -er and -ir verbs take -ido.
| Person | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | he hablado | he comido | he vivido |
| tú | has hablado | has comido | has vivido |
| él / ella | ha hablado | ha comido | ha vivido |
| nosotros | hemos hablado | hemos comido | hemos vivido |
| vosotros | habéis hablado | habéis comido | habéis vivido |
| ellos / ellas | han hablado | han comido | han vivido |
Usted takes the él / ella form and ustedes the ellos / ellas form; vosotros is used in Spain.
The one thing to remember
If the English says “have” or “has” plus a past participle, as in “I have eaten”, the Spanish is usually the Present Perfect. The participle stays the same whoever did it: he comido, hemos comido.
- He hablado con ella esta mañana.I have spoken to her this morning.
- Hemos comido demasiado esta semana.We have eaten too much this week.
- He leído ese libro dos veces.I have read that book twice.
Which past participles are irregular?
A handful of common verbs have a participle of their own. Learn them once and they work in every perfect tense, because the participle is the same in all of them.
| Verb | Past participle |
|---|---|
| abrir | abierto |
| escribir | escrito |
| romper | roto |
| volver | vuelto |
| morir | muerto |
| hacer | hecho |
| ver | visto |
| decir | dicho |
| poner | puesto |
- Han abierto todas las ventanas.They have opened all the windows.
- Hemos hecho todo lo posible.We have done everything possible.
Present Perfect or Preterite?
Both talk about the past, and English draws the same line with “I have spoken” and “I spoke”. nemiria’s Present Perfect card pairs each example with the Preterite:
| Present Perfect | Preterite |
|---|---|
| He hablado con ella esta mañana.I have spoken to her this morning. | Hablé con ella ayer.I spoke to her yesterday. |
| Has perdido las llaves otra vez.You have lost the keys again. | Perdiste las llaves el lunes.You lost the keys on Monday. |
| Ha sido un día muy largo.It has been a very long day. | Fue un día muy largo.It was a very long day. |
| He leído ese libro dos veces.I have read that book twice. | Leí ese libro el mes pasado.I read that book last month. |
he hablado
Present Perfect
- Still linked to now
- No set time
- Time words: hoy, esta semana, nunca, ya
¡He perdido mi cartera!I have lost my wallet! (and it is still lost)
hablé
Preterite
- Finished at a set moment
- You can say when
- Time words: ayer, el lunes, el mes pasado
Hablé con ella ayer.I spoke to her yesterday.
The quick test: if you can point to exactly when it happened, yesterday, on Monday, last month, it is the Preterite.
Is it the same in Spain and Latin America?
Not quite. For things done earlier today, with hoy or esta mañana, Spain, Peru, Bolivia and some other regions use the Present Perfect: He hablado con ella esta mañana. Much of Latin America, including Mexico, Chile and the Río de la Plata, prefers the Preterite: Hablé con ella esta mañana. Both are correct; use the one you hear around you.
Where do no and the pronouns go?
Nothing goes between haber and the participle. No and the little pronouns all go in front of haber:
- No he podido dormir bien esta semana.I have not been able to sleep well this week.
- Te has levantado tarde hoy.You have got up late today.
How nemiria teaches this
nemiria teaches the Present Perfect at Intermediate, together with the irregular past participles, which are a verb group of their own. Its card shows the formula, an example for each verb group, and the Preterite version of the same sentence.
How should you practise the Present Perfect?
Learn haber’s six forms first. He, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han are the only part that changes, and the same forms appear in every Present Perfect you will ever say.
Learn the irregular participles as a set. There are only a handful, and they come up constantly: hecho, dicho, visto, puesto, escrito.
Ask “can I say when?” If the sentence names a finished moment, switch to the Preterite.
Read next
nemiria teaches the Present Perfect at Intermediate, with the irregular past participles as their own verb group. Get it on the App Store.