Spanish II - The Perfect Tenses - Quick Guides

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Study GuideSpanish II–The Perfect Tenses1. The Helping Verb HaberIn English,compound tensesare formed with a helping verb and a main verb. The helping verb is“to have”(has, have, had), and it is followed by apast participle.Look at these two sentences:•I have studied.•I have a book.They look similar, but they are not the same.In the first sentence,haveis ahelping verbbecause it helps form the actionhave studied.In the second sentence,haveshowspossession—it tells us what someone owns.The key difference is simple:Ifhaveis followed by a past participle (likestudied), it is a helping verb.1.1Choosing the Right Verb in SpanishSpanish makes this distinction very clear by usingtwo different verbs.•Tener= to have (to possess something)•Haber= to have done something (used to form compound tenses)So before you write a sentence, ask yourself:Am I saying that someonehas something?Or am I saying that someonehas done something?If it’s possession, usetener.If it’s an action that already happened, usehaberwith a past participle.

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Study Guide1.2Using Haber to Form Compound TensesWhenhaberis used as a helping verb, it works just like “have” in English.It is followed by apast participle, and together they describe an action that has happened.Example idea:•Someonehas studied•Someonehas finished•Someonehas traveledIn Spanish, these ideas always usehaber + past participle.1.3Haber to Express Existence: “There is / There are”There is one special use ofhaberthat doesnotcreate a compound tense.Haber can also be used to talk aboutexistence—to say that somethingexistsoris present. InEnglish, this means“there is”or“there are.”Hay (Present Tense)In the present tense,haberbecomeshay.•Hay un concierto de Orishas este fin de semana.•There is an Orishas concert this weekend.•Hay muchos admiradores de este grupo aquí.•There are many fans of this group here.Important detail to remember:Hayis used for both singularandplural objects.1.4Other Tenses: Always SingularIn all other tenses,haberis used only in thethird person singular form, no matter how many thingsfollow it.Even if you are talking about many people or objects, the verb stays singular.

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Study Guide•Había un partido de vólibol ayer.•There was a volleyball game yesterday.(imperfect)•Había muchos espectadores en el gimnasio.•There were many spectators in the gym.(imperfect)•Habrá otra competencia mañana.•There will be another competition tomorrow.(future)•Habrá cinco equipos en el torneo.•There will be five teams in the tournament.(future)•Habría más, pero uno se canceló.•There would be more, but one was canceled.(conditional)Summary•Haberis used to form compound tenses (has done, have studied).•Teneris used to show possession.•Haymeans “there is” or “there are” in the present tense.•In other tenses,haberis always singular, even when talking about many things.Once you get used to spotting whether a sentence is aboutdoingorhaving, choosing betweenhaberandtenerbecomes much easier.2. Compound TensesSpanish usescompound tensesto talk about actions that are completed, already happened, or willbe finished by a certain time. These tenses are built using two parts:1.Aform of the helping verbhaber2.Apast participleof the main verbThe key rule to remember is this:The past participle never changes.Onlyhaberis conjugated to match the subject.The tense you choose forhaberdetermines which compound tense you are using.

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Study Guide2.1Present Perfect TenseThepresent perfect tenseis formed with thepresent tense ofhaberplus a past participle.It is used to say that somethinghas already happenedorhas been completed.Forms ofHaber(Present Tense)(Present Tense Conjugation Chart for the Helping VerbHaber)This chart shows all the present-tense forms ofhaber.Even though the chart listshaberalone, remember that it isalmost always followed by a pastparticiplein real sentences.Example: Present Perfect with a Verb

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Study Guide(Present Perfect Conjugation Chart forLlamar)Notice something important in this chart:•The forms ofhaberchange.•The past participlellamadostays the same for every subject.2.2Meaning and Use of the Present PerfectThe present perfect is translated like this:•I have called•You have called•They have calledThis tense focuses oncompletion, not just when the action happened.For example:•Yo he estudiado•I have studiedThis means the studying isfinished, and the result matters now.In English, this is similar to the preterite, but Spanish uses the present perfect when emphasizing thatthe action is completed.2.3Past Perfect (Pluperfect)Thepast perfect, also called thepluperfect, talks about an action thathad already happenedbefore another past event.It is formed just like the present perfect, but instead of the present tense ofhaber, it uses theimperfect tense ofhaber.Forms ofHaberin the Imperfect

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