The Spanish Compound Tenses

Question

Hello,

I have a question about the Spanish compound tenses how are they formed? I am working on the Spanish compound tenses on Duolingo and I can't figure out how they work.

Thanks so much

Answer 1

Compound verbs are formed using two verbs. The Present Perfect is a compound verb formed using the present tense of Haber + Past Participle (We have this in English too) and is used to talk about what has been done

Haber is called an auxiliary verb. The present tense conjugations are:-

he - I have…

has - you have….

ha - he, she, you sir/madam have….

hemos - we have…..

habéis - you-all have ….

han - they have …..

The Past Participle is a verb with either …ado or …ido replacing the …ar or …er ….ir verb ending of infinitive verbs.

Hablar = hablado

Comer = comido

Dormir = dormido

Ejemplos:- I-have spoken with Pilar about the party. He hablado con Pilar sobre la fiesta.

Have-you eaten my cake Juan? ¿Has comido mi pastel Juan?

He,(or she,or you) have / has slept all day. Ha dormido todo el día.

Note: 1. Past participles don’t change regardless of who is speaking or who or what is being spoken about (except when used as an adjective).

1. Beware! Some past participles are irregular. I hope this is helpful. ¡Buena suerte!

Answer 2

There are many compound tenses, and they are explained well in a million places. I suggest that you browse the grammar lessons here and also Google "Spanish compound tenses" and/or "Spanish perfect tenses" and/or "Spanish progressive tenses." In my experience, Duolingo is an OK way to review but not a very good way to learn.