Is it used in real life situations?

Question

Hello! The thing that i wanted to ask you today is: is the present perfect tense used in today'? situation? I know you guys are linguistics and you probably care about your language, but when Juan talks to his wife, María, does he use the present perfect? When you talk with your friends, do you use this tense? Maybe "use" is a mismatched word - do you abide by all those rules, or do you just make everything easier? My British friend says that for him, there is no difference between "have you done" and "did you do", and it sound weird when an outlander tries to say everything as it is written in his grammar book. Of course I'm asking about Spanish. I know that in American Spanish we don't use this tense, but do you, European Spaniards really care about tenses when talking to an other Spaniard?

Thanks!

Answer 1

In Spain the present perfect is used even more than the preterit. However both tenses are used by both Latin Americans and Spaniards. The Latin Americans use the preterit more.

There is a slight difference in meaning. If you know the difference in English between the present perfect and the simple past, the meanings are almost identical.

To answer your question, Yes, both tenses are used frequently but with differences as I described before.

:) - FELIZ77, Aug 10, 2016

Answer 2

Definitely, these two tenses are very different and the nuances in English are by far quite different.

In Spanish, the pretérito perfecto compuesto (English present perfect) is something that we use, but very few people really know how to apply it. We just use it because we've heard of it from the people surrounding us.

The present perfect in Spanish is a present tense, like in English, so the nuances are not distant from each other.

As a South American native speaker of Spanish, we use this tense a lot. In contrast with the past simple, there's a very difference in meaning but considering the proper context. It's obvious that saying he hecho & hice don't make a clear difference themselves if the proper context is not given.

The present perfect is a complicated tense and should not be taken for granted. It has many uses. Compare these simple examples:

1. Nadie me llamó. (= the possibility for someone to call me is obsolete.)
2. Nadie me ha llamado. (= the possibility for someone to call me still exists.)

Adding a time reference makes it a little bit clear:

1. Nadie me llamó hoy. (= the day finished.)
2. Nadie me ha llamado hoy. (= the day is not finished yet.)

Why the present perfect is different? Because it's always considering the present result of a completed action.

Answer 3

Yeah, that's what I thought. We only use the present perfect when referring to an unfinished peroid of time, because we can't say it in an another way. When we have an specified date, we got to use the simple past, but when there is no signal word, we can use both of them. I guess I'm right, am not I?

I know that there is a difference between them, but does it really mean a thing in today's situation? That what I'm asking you

In Latin America, the difference is very important. I have gotten used to what I call "University of Mexico" Spanish which is about as pure Spanish as you can get. - Daniela2041, Aug 11, 2016

Answer 4

Hello Matty

Interesting question!

Yes, the present perfect: eg He hablado, hemos comido, han leído etc...

is still very much used today but mostly in Spain. My native Spanish teacher lives in Murcia but comes from Toledo south of Madrid.

The Spaniards use this compound tense to refer to actions that have happened but the time period has not completed

He leído tu mensaje esta tarde, amigo

The person has already read his friend's messaje .. The activity has already taken place but the time period to which the action refers ie today, is not yet over.

I am going to post the guidance notes my native teacher gave me about this compound tense:

PRETÉRITO PERFECTO COMPUESTO DE INDICATIVO This time is very similar to the Present perfect in English, but there are some differences and sometimes Present perfect in English doesn’t match with Pretérito perfecto compuesto in Spanish, so we can’t translate literally. For this reason, we have to know the different uses that this tense have in Spanish: 1. Denotes an action or a state of things prior to when we talk, linked to the present. It’s used to refer to actions recently completed, ie, the action is finished but was done in a very close when talking time. Ex: Hoy he comido Spaguettis. Today I’ve eaten Spaquetti. The action, “to eat”, is finished, but the time when you talk, “Today”, is not finished. The action is completed but the day not yet. Ex: Esta semana he recibido dos clases de español. This week I received two Spanish classes. The action “to receive the Spanish classes,” is finished, but the time when you talk “this week” is not completed. The action is finished but the week not yet. Ex: He ido a la playa cinco veces este año. I went to the beach five times this year. The action, “to go,” is completed; but the time when you talk “this year” is not finished. The action is finished but the year not yet. 2.This tense is also used to refer to past actions that they have consequences in the present. Ex: He comido unas ostras que me han causado dolor de estómago. I've eaten oysters that they have caused me stomach pain. Now (present), I have stomach pain (consecuence) because I ate oysters (past action).

The preterite indicative is used in Spain to refer to actions already completed where the time period has also been completed.... eg last week, so the Spaniards would use the preterite here instead of the Perfect indicative

Me llamó por teléfono la semana pasada = He rang me (called me on the telepnone) last week

As Daniela rightly says the perfect indicative is used much more in Spain in preference to the preterite

I hope this helps

The way your teacher describes the uses of these tenses is the way I learned it. However, most people especially in Spain will use the present perfect when the preterit is really called for. I think that Spain will eventually just use the present perfect - Daniela2041, Aug 11, 2016

as the French do. They call what is really a present perfect, "le passé composé. Their preterit , which they call "le passé simple" is only used in literature at present. However I am told that in African French, they still use the "passé simple" where - Daniela2041, Aug 11, 2016

Spanish uses the preterit. It's fascinating how languages change and develop. - Daniela2041, Aug 11, 2016