Present perfect: Latin America vs. usage in Spain.

Question

Hi all,

So, early in my studies, I seem to recall some talk of the present perfect being somewhat different in Latin America vs Spain. I need to get that straight(er) in my head. Other than seeing Mexican friends say "we wouldn't say it that way" and knowing it is used less in L.A., I don't have much to go on.

If anyone could point me towards an article, ideally with some comparison and contrast and a bunch of examples to force it into my thick skull, I'd be much obliged.

Muchas gracias mi gente.

Interesting question. I'm interested in the answers, too. - Jubilado, Sep 30, 2013

Answer 1

There is a good discussion about it here:

enter link description here

Thanks Togtog. I feel a caballito and a good bedtime read coming on. Thank! - rogspax, Oct 1, 2013

OK, shorter than I anticipated, but just frigging excellent. Exactly what I was hoping for. Explanation, discussion, and examples. Muchísimas gracias! - rogspax, Oct 1, 2013

Answer 2

Rog, I can only talk about Spain. Apart from Galicia and Asturias in the northwest of Spain, the present perfect tense is used wherever it is used in English. In the areas mentioned, the preterite is preferred in almost all cases, and I understand that this is also the case in Latin America.There is a good reference to this in John Butt's "A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish" where he discusses usage in various Latin American countries.I haven't taken much interest in this as I'm focused on Spain. Cheers

Thanks Padrin, That´s the part I know least, so very helpful. I was thinking of ordering the book until I saw the cost, but noticed the main page in question is visible on Amazon´s preview on page 228 - rogspax, Oct 1, 2013

Answer 3

Like gringorf stated, we, most LA, use it like you use it.

It is a matter of speech too.

Yesterday I went to the supermarket and the police was there.....

Can you believe that yesterday I have/had gone to the supermarket, can you guess what was going on at precise time? Well, the police...

Right?

Yes, it seems that the LA use is much closer to Engish than mainland Spain´s. Getting it now. Thanks. Oh, and it is ¨the police _were_ there¨ :) - rogspax, Oct 1, 2013

If I ma referring to one police, I guess I should've mentioned it... :) - chileno, Oct 1, 2013

Answer 4

I tend to use it in Spanish pretty much like I would use it in English. But I find that my circle of friends and family rarely use it and prefer the preterite. The one notable exception is "Hemos llegado". "We have arrived". Spoken when pulling into the driveway.

I should say that the exception is that it is used when asking questions.

Thanks Gringo. I don´t hear it much either, except in the question ¨cómo has estado¨ or in things like, have you Ever been... - rogspax, Oct 1, 2013

Gringo, "Ya llegamos" in this case is more common, at least in central MX - 005faa61, Oct 1, 2013

Answer 5

And sharing a few other links I ran across while researching this further, including one from here on SpanishDict, which google picked up, even though my search here didn´t.

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