Perfect Tenses

Now that you know how to form past participles, you're ready to learn six more verb conjugations known as "perfect" tenses.

The word "perfect" here doesn't mean that the conjugation is any better than other conjugations, just that the action in question has (or had) already been completed. In English we combine a past participle with a form of "to have."

I have run.
They have played.
She had already left.

To create a perfect tense in Spanish we use a past participle together with forms of the verb haber.

When we use haber together with a past participle it functions as an auxiliary verb just like "have" does in the English examples above. We have a full range of haber conjugations (not just third person singular) for perfect tenses. The kind of perfect tense you have depends on the way you conjugate and translate haber.

Here are all the perfect tenses:

The Present Perfect Tense

As the name implies, the present perfect is a type of present tense conjugation involving a past participle. In English it looks something like this:

John has visited his grandparents numerous times.

How do we translate this sentence? In Spanish we'll need to choose the conjugation of "haber" that agrees with our subject, John. The present tense forms of haber (which can only be used with a past participle) are:

he hemos has habéis ha han

+ past participle

The past participle of "to visit" (visitar) is visitado. Therefore our translation will look like:

John ha visitado a sus abuelos muchas veces.

Some more examples:

¿Has oído la nueva canción de Lady Gaga?
Have you heard the new Lady Gaga song?

Hemos leído todos los libros de la biblioteca.
We have read all the books in the library.

The Pluperfect Tense

"Pluperfect" (pluscuamperfecto in Spanish) is a funny name but it basically means the "imperfect perfect." How can those two work with each other? We are talking about something that had already been completed at an indefinite point in the past.

This time we'll imperfect tense conjugation with a past participle:

She had already seen the movie three times.

The imperfect tense forms of haber (only to be used with a past participle):

había habíamos habías habíais había habían

+ past participle

The past participle of "to see" (ver) is visto. Therefore our translation will look like:

Ella ya había visto la película tres veces.

Some more examples:

Yo había conocido a Carlos varias veces antes.
I had met Carlos several times before.

Habíamos leído todos los libros de la biblioteca.
We had read all of the books in the library.

The Future Perfect Tense

It's a little strange to think of something as having been completed in the future, but there's also a future perfect conjugation:

I will have travelled to five states.

The future tense forms of haber:

habré habremos habrás habréis habrá habrán

+ past participle

The past participle of "to travel" (viajar) is viajado. Therefore our translation will look like:

Yo habré viajado a cinco estados.

Some more examples:

Tú habrás estudiado medicina por 10 años.
You will have studied medicince for 10 years.

Habrán jugado en el parque muchas veces.
You will have played at the park many times.

The Conditional Perfect

There's also a conditional perfect to speak hypothetically about actions that would have been completed:

He would have given you the money.

The conditional tense forms of haber:

habría habríamos habrías habríais habría habrían

+ past participle

The past participle of "to give" (dar) is dado. Therefore our translation will look like:

Él habría dado el dinero.

Some more examples:

Yo habría hecho la tarea con más tiempo.
I would have done the homework with more time.

Habríamos conducido 100 millas en la dirección equivocada.
We would have driven 100 miles in the wrong direction.

But wait! There's more.

The Present Perfect Subjunctive

We're not limited to the indicative mood when working with perfect tenses. We can also use them in subjunctive mood situations:

I doubt that Carlos has done his homework.

The present subjunctive forms of haber:

haya hayamos hayas hayáis haya hayan

+ past participle

And our Spanish translation:

Yo dudo que Carlos haya hecho su tarea.

Some more examples:

Me alegro mucho que todos hayan pasado la prueba.
I'm very happy that everyone has passed the test.

Ellos no creen que nosotros hayamos vivido en tres paises.
They don't believe that we have lived in three countries.

The Pluperfect Subjunctive

When we need it, there's a past perfect (pluperfect) subjunctive waiting for us too:

My family hoped that we had arrived on time.

The pluperfect subjunctive forms of haber:

hubiera hubiéramos hubieras hubierais hubiera hubieran

+ past participle

And our Spanish translation:

Mi familia esperaba que nosotros hubiéramos llegado a tiempo.

Some more examples:

Me alegraba mucho que todos hubieran pasado la prueba.
I was very happy that everyone had passed the test.

Ellos no creían que nosotros hubiéramos vivido en tres paises.
They didn't believe that we had lived in three countries.

The Perfect Infinitive

Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be any more perfect tenses, there's one thing we haven't tried yet ... not conjugating haber. In doing so we are making a vague reference to something in the unspecified past.

¡Gracias por habernos dado la bienvenida!
Thank you for having welcomed us!

Me gustaría haber visto Montana.
I would like to have seen Montana.

Más vale haber amado y perdido que no haber amado nunca.
'Tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.