USE OF PRESENT PERFECT

The present perfect is constructed with the present of the auxiliary verb haber and the past participle. The forms from haber stand always immediately before the past participle. The form of the past participle is always the same and finishes, depending on the type of verb according to the conjugation:

First conjugation - ar: - ado

trabajar

work

 

yo he trabajado	i have worked
tú has trabajado	you have worked
él/ella/usted ha trabajado	he/she/you has worked
nosotros/nosotras hemos trabajado	we have worked
vosotros/vosotras habéis trabajado	you have worked
ellos/ellas/ustedes han trabajado	they/you have worked

 

Second conjugation -er : - ido

deber

owe

yo he debido	i have worked
tú has debido	you have worked
él/ella/usted ha debido	he/she/you has worked
nosotros/nosotras hemos debido	we have worked
vosotros/vosotras habéis debido	you have worked
ellos/ellas/ustedes han debido	they/you have worked

Third conjugation - ir : - ido

sufrir

suffer

yo he sufrido	i have worked
tú has sufrido	you have worked
él/ella/usted ha sufrido	he/she/you has worked
nosotros/nosotras hemos sufrido	we have worked
vosotros/vosotras habéis sufrido	you have worked
ellos/ellas/ustedes han sufrido	they/you have worked

 

Perfect is used :

1) for the actions and events spent inside a period of time that still not finished or that for the speaker has not finished yet. That's why, the past perfect one appears often with adverbials of time as: today, this morning, this week, these days, this month, this year. For example:

Este año hemos doblado el volumen de ventas.	Our sales volume has doubled this year.
Esta mañana ha llegado la mercancía de la empresa española.	This morning come the goods from the Spanish company.
Hoy no ha habido mucho movimiento en el almacén.	Today a lot of movement has not been in the warehouse.

2) for past actions and events whose time is not closer determined, or in connection with adverbials of time which produce a relation to the present like alguna vez (someday), muchas veces (many times), nunca (never), ya (already), todavía no (not yet). For example:

¿Has estado alguna vez en Tapachula?	Have you ever been in Tapachula?
He trabajado muchas veces por las noches.	I have worked many times at night.
Nunca he querido realizar esa tarea	I never wanted to do this task.

 

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