what is it?
The pretérito perfecto is a compound past tense formed with the present tense of haber and a past participle. It describes actions or situations that belong to a time period that still includes the present moment — for example, today, this week, or this year. It is the tense of choice when a time marker such as hoy, ya, or todavía no signals that the action is relevant to now.
when to use it
Actions in a period that includes now. Use it when the time frame — today, this morning, this year — has not yet finished. The action happened in the past, but the period still belongs to the present.
With ya (already / yet). Ya signals that something has happened before the current moment or asks whether it has. It always pairs with the pretérito perfecto, not the simple preterite.
With todavía no (not yet). Todavía no signals that an expected action has not happened up to this moment. The period of expectation is still open.
With hoy (today). Because today is not over, any action placed within it connects to the present and takes the pretérito perfecto.
formation
The tense is built with two parts: the correct present-tense form of haber followed by the past participle of the main verb. Nothing comes between them. The participle never changes its ending to agree with the subject.
| subject | haber | example with hablar |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he | he hablado |
| tú | has | has hablado |
| él / ella / usted | ha | ha hablado |
| nosotros / nosotras | hemos | hemos hablado |
| vosotros / vosotras | habéis | habéis hablado |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | han | han hablado |
Regular past participles are formed by removing the infinitive ending and adding -ado (-ar verbs) or -ido (-er / -ir verbs). Three high-frequency verbs have irregular participles that must be memorised:
| infinitive | past participle | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hacer | hecho | done / made |
| escribir | escrito | written |
| ver | visto | seen |
examples in context
common pitfalls
Regularizing irregular participles. The participles of hacer, escribir, and ver do not follow the regular pattern. The forms «hacido», «escribido», and «veído» do not exist in Spanish. The correct forms are hecho, escrito, and visto.
Making the participle agree with the subject. When the past participle follows haber, it is invariable — it always ends in -o regardless of the subject's gender or number. «He hecha la tarea» is wrong; the correct form is he hecho la tarea.
Using the simple preterite with present-anchored markers. When ya, todavía no, or hoy appear, the period is still open and the pretérito perfecto is required. Saying «hoy hice mucho ejercicio» shifts the focus to a closed, completed event and loses the connection to the present moment. Use hoy he hecho instead.
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
Todavía no ___ el informe. (ella / terminar)
Fill in the blank with the correct pretérito perfecto form of the verb in parentheses.