What Spanish Tenses Am I Thinking Of?
I am really not sure of the name, and I'm curious. It is 2 different tenses, though I think they go together.
The first one is used when something happened, but could still be happening. like if someone was sick, they could still be sick... but you don't know.
and the other tense is when something happened, but you know has stopped for a fact. like death, or something.
I'm not sure if the second is past tense, I think it is.. but for some reason I'm thinking it's something else too. It's hard to explain.
Any information that you know could help my curiosity!
Thanks 
6 Answers
Hi, Entonces, I see from your profile that you are learning both English and Spanish.
I don't know if I can help you, but I will try.
In English: the present perfect tense is used to indicate something that happened in the past but still has impact on the future. Example: "I have seen that movie". In effect, I saw that movie, but for whatever reason it is still impacting me. Another example: " I have already eaten". In other words, I ate and it is still impacting me because I am not hungry now. "She has been sick". In other words, she was sick, and the problems associated with her sickness are still causing problems for her.
In Spanish that tense is called thepresente perfecto. To take the most recent English example and put it into Spanish: "(Ella) ha estado enferma" - tal vez siga enferma, o ya estará algo mejor pero le quedarán algunos problemas de salud.
Your second tense seems to be the simple past tense also known as the pretéritoin Spanish. This tense is used when something happened and it is definitely over with. There is no implied impact that continues to the present.
Examples: "she went yesterday - se fue ayer", "I got sick - me enfermé", "my cacary died - se me murió el canario".
I apologize if I did not understand your question, but maybe this is what you were wondering.
Imperfect Indicative: How long has he been sick.
Agree with Preterite
Spanish tenses as described by Lazarus
Present Indicative: Something that started in the past and continues to the present. Was sick and is still sick
Imperfect Indicative: Something that was continuous in the past and its completion is not indicated. Was sick and still sick is unknown, at the same time or prior to a another action.
but you don't know
This is what I am unsure of.
Preterit: Something that started and was completed in the past.
The first situation you are thinking of is the present indicative tense of a verb
It is where an action or state of being that occurred in the past and continues up to the present. In Spanish this is an idiomatic use of the present tense of a verb with hace which is also in the present. For example:
Hace tres horas que miro la televisión = I have been watching television for three hours.
The second situation is illustrated by the Preterite tense (Pretérito) or simple past which indicates that an action has happened once and is complete.
Compró un periódico = I bought a newspaper
First one: are you think of the tense which is like the English construction of "I HAVE been sick"? "He estado enfermero/a"
Second one: I think you are thinking of the preterite. "Algo pasó."
