Pretérito Perfecto in Spanish

The pretérito perfecto is used to talk about past actions or experiences that are connected to the present. It is especially common for things that happened today, this week, recently, or at some point in your life.

How to form the pretérito perfecto

Use the present tense of haber + past participle.

Subject	Haber	Example with comer
yo	he	he comido
tú	has	has comido
él / ella / usted	ha	ha comido
nosotros / nosotras	hemos	hemos comido
vosotros / vosotras	habéis	habéis comido
ellos / ellas / ustedes	han	han comido

Regular past participles

For regular verbs:

• -ar → -ado
  hablar → hablado
• -er → -ido
  comer → comido
• -ir → -ido
  vivir → vivido

Examples:

• He hablado con Marta. — I have spoken with Marta.
• Hemos comido mucho. — We have eaten a lot.
• ¿Has vivido en España? — Have you lived in Spain?

These are the regular patterns. Some common verbs have irregular forms; see Past Participles in Spanish for the full explanation and the most useful irregular past participles.

When to use the pretérito perfecto

1. Recent actions connected to the present

Use it for something that happened recently when the exact past time is not the main focus.

• He terminado el trabajo. — I have finished the work.
• Marta ha llegado. — Marta has arrived.
• ¿Has visto mi teléfono? — Have you seen my phone?

2. Actions in an unfinished time period

The pretérito perfecto is common with periods such as today, this week, this month, or this year when that period is still continuing.

• Hoy he trabajado mucho. — I have worked a lot today.
• Esta semana hemos salido dos veces. — We have gone out twice this week.
• Este año he viajado a tres países. — I have travelled to three countries this year.

Common expressions include:

• hoy — today
• esta mañana / tarde / noche — this morning / afternoon / evening
• esta semana — this week
• este mes — this month
• este año — this year
• últimamente — lately
• ya — already
• todavía no — not yet

3. Life experiences

Use it to talk about whether something has happened at any time in your life without saying exactly when.

• He estado en México. — I have been to Mexico.
• Nunca he probado el pulpo. — I have never tried octopus.
• ¿Has viajado alguna vez solo? — Have you ever travelled alone?

Negative sentences

Put no before haber.

• No he comido todavía. — I have not eaten yet.
• Nunca hemos estado allí. — We have never been there.
• Marta no ha terminado. — Marta has not finished.

Questions

To make a question, keep the same verb form and use question intonation.

• ¿Has comido? — Have you eaten?
• ¿Habéis visto esta película? — Have you seen this film?
• ¿Qué has hecho hoy? — What have you done today?

Common irregular past participles

Some common verbs have irregular past participles:

Verb	Past participle
hacer	hecho
ver	visto
decir	dicho
escribir	escrito
poner	puesto
volver	vuelto
romper	roto
abrir	abierto

Examples:

• He hecho la cena. — I have made dinner.
• ¿Has visto a Ana? — Have you seen Ana?
• Ya hemos vuelto a casa. — We have already returned home.

Pretérito perfecto vs pretérito indefinido

A useful beginner rule is:

• pretérito perfecto → past action connected to the present
• pretérito indefinido → completed action in a finished past time period

Compare:

• Hoy he hablado con Ana. — I have spoken with Ana today.
• Ayer hablé con Ana. — I spoke with Ana yesterday.
• Este año hemos viajado mucho. — We have travelled a lot this year.
• El año pasado viajamos mucho. — We travelled a lot last year.

This difference is especially useful in Spain. In many parts of Latin America, speakers often use the pretérito indefinido in situations where speakers in Spain may prefer the pretérito perfecto.

Common mistake

Do not use ser or estar to form the pretérito perfecto.

• ❌ Estoy comido.
• ✅ He comido.

The structure is always:

haber + past participle

Quick rule

Use he / has / ha / hemos / habéis / han + past participle to talk about recent past actions, unfinished time periods, and life experiences connected to the present.