Selecting the perfect Spanish past tense is a key fluency marker. The difference hinges no longer just on even as the movement happened, but on the speaker’s appreciation of the term—is it nevertheless ongoing, or is it simply finished?
Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto (an appropriate – “Have completed”)
- Cognizance: The movement applies to the present.
- Time body: Ongoing (a period of time that isn’t always but over).
- Key Time phrases: hoy (these days), esta semana (this week), este año (this 12 months), últimamente (recently), alguna vez (ever).
- Form: $haber$ (gift traumatic) + beyond Participle
- Yo he viajado (I’ve traveled)
Example: SentenceExplanationHoy he hablado con mi jefe. The day (hoy) continues to be in progress; the motion of talking is anchored to the modern-day—Nunca hemos visto tanta nieve. The time period is “our lives” (that’s ongoing); the motion has gift-day relevance. Esta mañana ha llovido mucho. The morning is a part of the cutting-edge (hoy), so the time is perceived as ongoing (not unusual in Spain).
Pretérito Indefinido (The Simple Past – “Did”)
- Recognition: The movement is a finished event, totally disconnected from the existing.
- Time body: completed and defined (a length that is absolutely over).
- Key Time phrases: ayer (the day past), anoche (closing night time), la semana pasada (closing week past), hace dos días (2 days in the past), en 1995 (in 1995).
- shape: single-phrase conjugation of the verb.
- Yo viajé (I traveled)
Example SentenceExplanationAyer hablé con mi jefe. The day prior to this (ayer) is a totally completed term.De niña, vi mucha televisión.” As a child” is a finished, described degree of life. Los Angeles semana pasada llovió mucho. “remaining week” (los Angeles semana pasada) is a wholly completed time unit.
The imperative local distinction
As we touched on, the choice between those two tenses is closely encouraged by way of geography:
ScenarioUsage in Spain (Castilian Spanish)utilization in Latin the us (most regions)movement these days (Hoy)Prefers Perfecto (Hoy he comido.)Prefers Indefinido (Hoy comí.) movement ultimate Week (l. a. semana pasada) Prefers Indefinido (los angeles semana pasada comí.)Prefers Indefinido (los Angeles semana pasada comí.)Lifetime experience (Nunca)Prefers Perfecto (Nunca he ido.)uses Perfecto (Nunca he ido.)
Key Takeaway: If you are learning Spanish to be used in Spain, use the Perfecto for sports that took place in the past or this week.
. In case you are learning for use in Mexico, Central, or South the us, you can nearly always persist with the Indefinido for all completed moves.
practice project
To solidify this distinction, attempt conjugating the verb ver (to peer) in the following sentences, selecting either the Perfecto Indefinido (vi)(he visto, viste)
- Esta mañana, yo ___________ un accidente en la carretera. (I saw an accident this morning.)
- El año pasado, tú ___________. a. película ‘Dune’ tres veces. (You saw the film ‘Dune’ three times last year.)
- Nosotros nunca ___________ el mar Caribe. (We’ve never visible the Caribbean Sea.)
I’m prepared to test your solutions while you are!
