Ya in Past Perfect

Question

How do you know exactly when to put "ya" in past perfect? How do you know when not to put? I cannot figure out from the sentence that the event has already happened...

P.S.- How do you say "Happy Valentine!" in Spanish?

Answer 1

Hello Wjd

Welcome to the SpanihDict forum

You asked:

How do you know exactly when to put "ya" in past perfect? How do you know when not to put? I cannot figure out from the sentence that the event has already happened.

Ya la fiesta ha comenzado/ Ya la fiesta comenzó = The party has already begun/started.(lit; Already, the party has started)

Ya han llegados =They have already arrived (lit; Already they have arrived)

You need to learn about Spanish verbs then you will better understand the use of the word ya to mean already!

By the way: "Feliz día de San Valentín = Happy Saint Valentine's day"

I hope this helps

I suppose it´s not incorrect to say "Ya la fiesta ...." but it´s more natural to say "La fiesta ya ..." or even with "ya" at the end of the sentence. Note: "Ya han llegado" without S. It´s a verb and not an adjective but don´t feel bad ..... - 005faa61, Feb 13, 2015

.... even some natives make this mistake : -) - 005faa61, Feb 13, 2015

Thank you very much for the advice, Julian :) - FELIZ77, Feb 13, 2015

Answer 2

Just for the record---

The past perfect uses the imperfect (and in some cases the preterite) of "haber" then the past participle of the main verb as in English.

He had arrived. "El había llegado"

The had eaten. "Ellos habían comido."

:)♥ - sanlee, Feb 13, 2015

Oh , I learnt this as the pluscuamperfecto de indicativo, Daniella :) - FELIZ77, Feb 13, 2015

Sí, ésa es la expresión en español. Los libros de texto (para principiantes) que usamos aquí dan los términos gramáticos en inglés. - Daniela2041, Feb 13, 2015

Answer 3

http://www.studyspanish.com/verbs/lessons/pastperfect.htm

Answer 4

Feliz San Valentín!

Please fill out your profile , it would be nice to know what language you speak and which language you want to learn. - ray76, Feb 13, 2015