69 Present perfect: HAVE DONE

The present perfect is used to refer to actions repeated in the past that may be ongoing in the present, and may be continue to the future. It’s called the “perfect” tnese because the time frame is possible to project beyond all times. Examples of present perfect in English:

• “I have sung this song several times” = Yo he cantado esta canción varias veces.
• “She has sung this song several times” = Ella ha cantado esta canción varias veces.
• “They have sung this song several times” = Ellos han cantado esta canción varias veces.

Notice that the verb “to have” in this case can’t be translated by TENER. To make these constructions, you need to take another form an it’s the verb “haber”:

• Yo he
• Tú has
• Él/ella/usted ha
• Nosotros/nosotras hemos
• Ellos/ellas/ustedes han

Notice that in English you can abbreviate this “have/has” when meaning present perfect:

• “I’ve sung this song several times” = Yo he cantado esta canción varias veces.
• “She’s sung this song several times” = Ella ha cantado esta canción varias veces.
• “They’ve sung this song several times” = Ellos han cantado esta canción varias veces.

However, when the verb “have/has” means tener or to actually have something, English may not allow the abbreviation. You can say “I’ve sung this song several times” but not “I’ve three dollars in my pocket” (???). So the present perfect is the abbreviated form of to have in English.

When people pronounce this, it may be hard to hear. For example, saying “Yo no he hecho la tarea” sounds like “Yo no e echo la tarea”. Then there are vowel linkings that make it sound like “Yo nuecho la tarea”. The two E together, and the O in NO sounds almost like an U.

How would you say something like “sung”? You must add ADO to verbs ending in AR and IDO to verbs ending in ER or IR, after deleting the infinitival ending. This is called the “past participle”. For example:

• cantar = cantado = sung
• comer = comido = eaten
• dormir = dormido = slept (also “asleep”)

Most verbs work like this, but there are a few irregulars. The most common irregular participles are:

• hacer = hecho = done
• decir = dicho = said
• romper = roto = broken
• escribir = escrito =written
• morir = muerto = dead, died
• poner = puesto = put
• abrir = abierto = opened, open
• volver = vuelto = returned
• ver = visto = seen

Past participles may be used to state emotions after ESTAR:

• cansarse = estoy cansado OR cansada (=tired)
• aburrirse = estoy aburrido OR aburrida (=bored)
• emocionarse = estoy emocionado OR emocionada (=excited)
• enojarse = estoy enojado OR enojada (=angry)
• confundirse = estoy confundido OR confundida (=confused)
• estresarse = estoy estresado OR estresada (=stressed)

Sample conversation

Turn actions into emotion by changing the preterit into past participle.

The question is in the tú-form in the preterit.

Remember to get rid of the SE ending in the infinitive before making the emotion. Then delete the AR ending, and add ADO:

A: ¿Te enojaste? (=enojarse, to get angry)

B: Sí, estoy ___________ (add emotion).

A: ¿Te cansaste? (=cansarse, to get tired)

B: Sí, estoy ___________ (add emotion).

A: ¿Te emocionaste? (=emocionarse, to get excited)

B: Sí, estoy ___________ (add emotion).

A: ¿Te estresaste? (=estresarse, to get stressed)

B: Sí, estoy ___________ (add emotion).

Talk about daring things you have done

This prompt has the leading verb for the present perfect. You should add the past participle. In some cases, you may need to add a preterit for clarification.

A: ¿Alguna vez has ___________ (comer) comida cruda (=raw food)? =Have you ever eaten raw food?

B: Sí, yo he ___________ (comer) comida cruda. Una vez yo comí _________ (add food). OR No, yo nunca he ___________ (comer) comida cruda.

A: ¿Alguna vez te has _____________ (tirar) de un paracaídas (=parachute)?

B: Sí, yo me he ___________ (tirar) de un paracaídas. Yo practico paracadaidismo.. OR No, yo nunca me he ___________ (tirar) de un paracaídas.

A: ¿Alguna vez te has ______________ (enamorar) de una persona imposible?

B: Sí, yo me he ________________ (enamorar) de una persona imposible. Yo me enamoré de ____________ (add person). OR No, yo nunca me he ____________ (enamorar) de una persona imposible.

A: ¿Alguna vez has ____________ (comer) un animal exótico?

B: Sí, yo he ____________ (comer) un animal exótico. Una vez yo comí ___________ (add animal). OR No, yo nunca he ____________ (comer) un animal exótico.

A: ¿Alguna vez has ______________ (viajar) a un país hispano?

B: Sí, yo he _____________ (viajar) a un país hispano. Una vez yo viajé a ____________ (add country). OR No, yo nunca he _________________ (viajar) a un país hispano.

A: ¿Alguna vez has _______________ (estar) en peligro de muerte? (=in danger of dead)?

B: Sí, yo he ____________ (estar) en peligro de muerte. Una vez yo ___________________________, ______________________ and _________________________ (add story in the preterit). OR No, yo nunca he estado en peligro de muerte.