Be Daring in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to be daring in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• ask about life experiences

• use vocabulary related to extreme sports

• talk about what others have done in the past

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Adjectives

Spanish	English
colgante	suspension
extravagante	extravagant
frito	fried
submarino	underwater

examples
He cruzado un puente colgante. I've crossed a suspension bridge.
No he hecho nada extravagante. I haven't done anything extravagant.
He comido insectos fritos. I've eaten fried insects.

Nouns

Spanish	English
la acrobacia	stunt
el alpinismo	mountain climbing
el avestruz	ostrich
el barranquismo	canyoning
la cueva	cave
el delfín	dolphin
la duna	dune
el insecto	insect
el kayak	kayak
el/la maratón	marathon
la medusa	jellyfish
el paracaidismo	skydiving
el parapente	paragliding
la patineta	skateboard
el rafting	rafting
el sandboarding	sandboarding
el snowboard	snowboarding

examples
Ha hecho acrobacias en bicicleta. He has done bike stunts.
Hemos practicado alpinismo. We've gone mountain climbing.
Ha comido carne de avestruz. She's eaten ostrich meat.

Noun Phrases

Spanish	English
el ala delta	hang gliding
el globo aeróstatico	hot-air balloon

examples
He volado en ala delta. I've gone hang gliding.
Me he montado en un globo aerostático. I've ridden in a hot-air balloon.

Although ala delta uses the masculine article el, it’s a feminine noun. So, why does it use el? When a feminine singular noun begins with a stressed a or ha- sound, the masculine definite article is used instead of the feminine definite article.

When the same noun is plural, the regular feminine article is used.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Rehacer

Rehacer(to rebuild) is an -ar verb that is irregular in the present perfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	he rehecho	I have rebuilt
tú	has rehecho	you have rebuilt	informal singular you
vos	has rehecho	you have rebuilt	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	ha rehecho	he, she has rebuilt
usted	ha rehecho	you have rebuilt	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	hemos rehecho	we have rebuilt
vosotros, vosotras	habéis rehecho	you have rebuilt	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	han rehecho	they have rebuilt
ustedes	han rehecho	you have rebuilt	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

The Present Perfect

In these lessons, you reviewed the present perfect. The Spanish present perfect el pretérito perfecto compuestoo el antepresenteis used to talk about things that started in the past and which continue or repeat in the present. It's also used to talk about things that have happened in the recent past.

How Do You Form the Present Perfect in Spanish?

Present Perfect Indicative Formula

present indicative of haber + past participle of another verb

As a reminder, this is how we conjugate haber in the present indicative:

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation
yo	he
tú	has
vos	has
él, ella	ha
usted	ha
nosotros, nosotras	hemos
vosotros, vosotras	habéis
ellos, ellas	han
ustedes	han

Past Participles

Regular Past Participles

An essential part of using the present perfect correctly is knowing how to form the past participle.

To form the past participle of a regular verb, you drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add -ado to the stem of -ar verbs and -ido to the stem of -er and -ir verbs. This is equivalent to adding -ed to many verbs in English.

Irregular Past Participles

Quite a few Spanish verbs have irregular past participles that don't end in -ado or -ido. Let's take a look at the irregular past participles you saw in these lessons!

Infinitive	Spanish Past Participle	Translation
hacer	hecho	done
rehacer	rehecho	rebuilt
volver	vuelto	started (doing something) again

Let’s take a look at some examples of the present perfect that we saw in these lessons:

examples
He hecho paracaidismo. I've gone skydiving.
No he hecho nada extravagante. I haven't done anything extravagant.
Me he bañado con delfines. I've swum with dolphins.

examples

He hecho paracaidismo.

I've gone skydiving.

No he hecho nada extravagante.

I haven't done anything extravagant.

Me he bañado con delfines.

I've swum with dolphins.

Present Perfect Trigger Words

Here are some key words that trigger the use of the present perfect.

Key Word in Spanish	Translation
alguna vez	ever
nunca	never

Let’s take a look at some examples of these trigger words in context:

examples
¿Has hecho algo atrevido alguna vez? Have you ever done anything daring?
Nunca he hecho rafting. I've never been rafting.

examples

¿Has hecho algo atrevido alguna vez?

Have you ever done anything daring?

Nunca he hecho rafting.

I've never been rafting.

When to Use the Present Perfect

Talking about Life Experiences

We use the present perfect to talk about life experiences and things you have done, without saying specifically when you did them. It is also used to talk about how many times you've done something.

examples
¿Has hecho algo atrevido alguna vez? Have you ever done anything daring?
He probado la medusa. I've tried jellyfish.

examples

¿Has hecho algo atrevido alguna vez?

Have you ever done anything daring?

He probado la medusa.

I've tried jellyfish.

Recent Completed Actions

We also use the present perfect to talk about recent finished actions that have a present result.

Unfinished Situations

Finally, we use the present perfect to talk about situations that started in the past and continue until now.

Latin America, Spain, and the Present Perfect

For talking about actions that happened in the recent past, the present perfect is more widely used in Spain than in Latin America. It's more common to hear the preterite, or simple past, used in Latin America to talk about something that just happened. To talk about something that was just done, it's also very common to use acabar deor the simple past, especially in Latin America.