Lesson 65 Notes

CoffeeBreakSpanish.com
In this edition:
using the
perfect tense;
irregular past
participles
Lesson 65
Notes
¿Ya has hecho tus deberes?
Have you already done your homework?
Programme Notes
Coffee Break Spanish notes guide you through the content of each lesson. In this lesson we
continue to discuss the perfect tense, looking at when the tense is used and the formation of
irregular past participles.
Review of the formation of the perfect tense
In lesson 64 we learned how to form the perfect tense of regular verbs. As you know, the perfect
tense has two elements: a part of the auxiliary verb and the past participle. The auxiliary verb is
always haber. If you have any experience with other languages in which more than one auxiliary
verb exists (eg. French avoir and être, Italian avere and essere, German haben and sein, etc.), please be
aware that Spanish only ever uses haber.
haber (to have (done something)) - PRESENT
he
hemos
has
habéis
ha
han
To form the past participle of -ar verbs, take off the -ar and add -ado. Both -er and -ir verbs form
their past participles in the same way: take off the -er or -ir and add -ido.
Forming the past participle
cantar
cantado
beber
bebido
vivir
vivido
The table below lists full conjugations of cantar, beber and vivir.
Perfect tense of regular verbs
cantar
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 65
he cantado
has cantado
ha cantado
hemos cantado
habéis cantado
han cantado
page 1
beber
he bebido
has bebido
ha bebido
hemos bebido
habéis bebido
han bebido
vivir
he vivido
has vivido
ha vivido
hemos vivido
habéis vivido
han vivido
Using the perfect tense
As we saw in lesson 64, the perfect tense is used to translate the concept of “to have done
something”:
he comprado una casa
I have bought a house
hemos vivido en Asturias
we have lived in Asturias
Sergio y Montse han bebido todo el agua
Sergio and Montse have drunk all the water
The key feature of the perfect tense is its relation to the present: indeed, the perfect tense is often
referred to as the “present perfect”. Consider the following examples:
todavía no he terminado
I’ve not finished yet
he hablado con Miguel dos veces esta mañana
I have spoken to Miguel twice this morning
In the first example it is clear that although the speaker began doing whatever it was earlier, he or
she has not yet finished, and is therefore still working on the task, or is still eating, still watching tv.,
etc. in the present. In the second example, the suggestion is that although the speaker has spoken to
Miguel twice this morning, there is an implication that he or she is likely to have a further
conversation with Miguel - in the present, or indeed in the future.
In addition to this usage, there are a number of key words or phrases which trigger the perfect
tense. The most common of these words and phrases are listed below.
Spanish
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 65
English
esta mañana
this morning
esta tarde
this afternoon (retrospectively)
page 2
esta semana
this week
este mes
this month
hace (dos semanas)
(two weeks) ago
hace (una hora)
(one hour) ago
Note that the link between these phrases and the perfect tense does not necessarily extend to Latin
America and while it is more common to hear esta mañana he hablado con Miguel in Spain, it’s quite
likely that you may hear esta mañana hablé con Miguel in many parts of Latin America. Of course,
you will be understood either way.
Using ya
The word ya, meaning “already”, is often associated with the perfect tense. Some examples are
provided below:
ya he terminado
I have already finished
ya he visitado España
I have already visited Spain
Irregular past participles
Some verbs have irregular past participles. Some common irregular past participles are listed
below:
Infinitive
Meaning
Past Participle
Example
abrir
to open
abierto
decir
to say
dicho
¿lo he dicho bien?
escribir
to write
escrito
ya hemos escrito la carta
hacer
to do/make
hecho
ya he hecho mis deberes
ver
to see
visto
he abierto la ventana
he visto la película
In addition to the irregular past participles listed in the audio programme, here are some further
examples of verbs which have irregular past participles.
Infinitive
Meaning
Past Participle
ir
to go
ido
han ido al supermercado
leer
to read
leído
hemos leído un buen libro
morir
to die
muerto
el perro ha muerto esta mañana
poner
to put
puesto
he puesto el libro en la mesa
romper
to break
roto
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 65
Example
el coche se ha roto
page 3
ser
to be
sido
he sido profesor pero ahora soy
intérprete
volver
to return
vuelto
han vuelto de Francia esta tarde
Bonus podcast exercise
The following sentences were used as examples in the interactive test in the bonus podcast.
Spanish
English
1
Han abierto la ventana
They have opened the window
2
Esta mañana hemos hecho mucho
This morning we have done a lot
3
Hace una semana he dado una vuelta a
Zamora
A week ago I went for a drive to Zamora
4
Hemos aprendido mucho hoy
We have learned a lot today
5
¿Qué ha dicho tu madre esta tarde?
What did your mother say this afternoon?
6
¿Lo he dicho bien?
Did I say it correctly?
7
Lo he visto por todas partes
I’ve seen it everywhere
8
María ha puesto el libro en la mesa
María has put the book on the table
All materials ©Copyright Radio Lingua Ltd 2008
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 65
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