"have / has done" — haber + participle

The present perfect talks about a recent past that is still connected to now: "I have eaten", "she has seen it". It is made of two parts — the present tense of haber plus a past participle:

• He comido. — I have eaten.
• ¿Has visto la película? — Have you seen the film?
• Hemos hablado con el profesor. — We have spoken to the teacher.

Two rules that never break: the two parts never separate (nothing goes between he and comido), and the participle never agrees here — it always ends in -o, whoever the subject is.

-ado and -ido

To make a regular past participle, chop the infinitive ending and add:

Now attach the right haber form: he hablado (I have spoken), has comido (you have eaten), han vivido (they have lived).

AQA note: this course uses the present of haber only. You will not be asked to produce the pluperfect (había hablado) — stick to he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han.

Choosing haber

Nine to memorise cold

A short list of very common verbs has an irregular past participle — you cannot build it from a rule, so learn each one:

In action: He hecho los deberes (I have done the homework); ¿Has visto mi móvil? (Have you seen my phone?); Han escrito una carta (They have written a letter).

Your turn — an irregular participle

What does Spanish put in front of «comido»?

Your turn — a full perfect

Where is "used to" hiding in Pablo's sentence?

The imperfect endings

The imperfect is the tense of "used to", descriptions and backgrounds. It is beautifully regular — almost no exceptions. Chop the infinitive and add:

Tier note: AQA lists the imperfect at Foundation in the singular persons (yo, tú, él). The Higher plural persons (hablábamos, comíais, vivían…) are Higher-tier — learn them all, but the badge shows what's stretch. -ir verbs (vivir → vivía) use exactly the same endings as -er.

The three irregular imperfects

The whole imperfect tense has just three irregular verbs. Learn these and nothing else can catch you out:

Notice: the plural forms (Higher éramos, íbamos, veíamos…) are the ones with accents — those are the Higher-tier persons. In the singular: era (I/he was), iba (I/he used to go), veía (I/he used to see).

Pick the right past tense

Choose the form that fits the gap — a completed event, a habit, or time in the past.

Your turn — the imperfect

Four jobs of the imperfect

Reach for the imperfect whenever the past is unfinished, repeated or described:

• Habits — "used to / would": De niño jugaba al fútbol. — As a child I used to play football.
• Descriptions & background: Hacía sol y la casa era grande. — It was sunny and the house was big.
• Ongoing "was doing": Comía cuando llegaste. — I was eating when you arrived.
• Time & age in the past: Eran las tres; Tenía diez años. — It was three o'clock; I was ten years old.

Storytelling tip: the imperfect paints the scene — the weather, the place, how people felt, what usually happened. It answers "what was going on?" rather than "what happened next?".

"Used to"

Where is "used to" hiding in Pablo's sentence?

Your turn — an irregular imperfect

How do you choose between these two past tenses?

Two pasts, two jobs

Spanish has two simple past tenses and choosing between them is the heart of storytelling. The rule of thumb:

They combine in the classic "interrupted action" sentence — the imperfect sets the scene, the preterite drops in the event:

• Comía cuando sonó el teléfono. — I was eating (background) when the phone rang (event).
• Cuando era pequeño, vivía en Madrid. — When I was little, I used to live in Madrid. (both imperfect — habit & description)
• Ayer fui al cine. — Yesterday I went to the cinema. (preterite — one finished event)

Which tense does the phrase signal?

Some time phrases point to a finished event (preterite); others to a habit or ongoing scene (imperfect). Sort each one.

Background or event?

Match the infinitive to its past participle

Tap an infinitive on the left, then tap its irregular past participle on the right.

Your turn — the imperfect again

Reading a description

How do you choose between these two past tenses?

Complete the perfect

Your perfect & imperfect toolkit

Master these and you can narrate any story about your childhood or past. Press Finish to see your score.