El Presente Perfecto – Parte 3
The present perfect in Spanish, parte 3
Post 205/365
El martes el 17 de octubre de 2017
Hola,
Muy buenos días.
Last week we started a new verb tense: El Presente Perfecto
It’s important to spend some time on a new tense to really get used to the conjugations and also to learn how it’ll benefit your conversations. This is a super high frequency verb tense so you’ll want to get it solid in your speech! The presente perfecto is a compound verb tense so it has 2 parts – the verb haber and the participio pasado.
Sometimes when we learn a new verb tense it can throw all of our Spanish out of wack! It’s called a state of disequilibrium with language.
What that means is that, if someone says to you,
‘Hola, ¿Cómo estás?‘ and you stare at them unable to answer and think, ‘huh? I should know what that means.’
That’s state of disequilibrium! It’s associated with learning a new verb tense. It happens to all of us. It is NOT a sign that you cannot learn Spanish!
As soon as you get this verb tense sorted out and understood, your Spanish will soar further ahead than before.
Stick with it and don’t give up! This is a natural phase in the language learning process and again, it’s connected to learning a new verb tense.
We’ll experience several of these ‘crashes’ as we learn new verb tenses, but it all comes together with continued practice.
I’m here to help you move through these language learning phases!
3 ways to practice the present perfect in Spanish
A Quiz
Select the right form of the the verb haber for the subject given
1. yo
a. ha
b. he
2. nosotros
a. hemos
b. hamos
3. ellos
a. hen
b. han
4. tú
a. hes
b. has
5. ella o él
a. ha
b. he
Replacement practice
1. lavar – to wash
Yo he lavado la ropa. – I have washed the clothes
(nosotros, ellos, Miguel, tú)
2. querer – to want
María ha querido ir a Sur América. – María has wanted to go to South America
(yo, Juan y su esposa, nosotros, tú)
3. pedir – to ask for or to request
Ellos han pedido una guía. – The have asked for/requested a guide.
(ella, nosotros, tú, yo)
Repita en voz alta
1. I have slept well this week. – Yo he dormido bien esta semana. (dormir)
2. They have followed the directions. – Ellos han seguido las instrucciones. (seguir)
3. He hasn’t been able to eat. – No ha podido comer. (poder)
4. We haven’t found the keys yet. – Todavía no hemos encontrado las llaves. (encontrar)
5. You haven’t watched that show? – ¿No has mirado ese programa? (mirar)
Action steps: Do the 3 ways to practice the Presente Perfecto above.
Leave me a comment, let me know how this verb tense is going for you. I’d love to hear from you!
Gracias y hasta mañana,
Carolina
