Cross Off Your To-Dos in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to cross off your to-dos in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• use vocabulary related to chores

• ask if someone has done their chores

• talk about when you did certain activities

Vocabulary

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

Adjective

Spanish	English
lavado	washed

examples
He colgado la ropa lavada. I've hung up the laundry.

Although the adjective lavado means washed, its meaning can change depending on what words it is used with. For example, in the sentence He colgado la ropa lavada., the words ropa(clothes) and lavada combine, and the most logical translation into English is laundry.

Nouns

Spanish	English
la aspiradora	vacuum
el césped	lawn
el depósito	tank
el polvo	dust

examples
¿Has cortado el césped? Have you mowed the lawn?
¿Has llenado el depósito de gasolina? Have you filled up the gas tank?

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Colgar

Colgar(to hang up) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present perfect.

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

Completar

Completar(to complete, to do) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present perfect.

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

Fregar

Fregar(to wash, to scrub) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present perfect.

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

Planchar

Planchar(to iron) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present perfect.

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

Regar

Regar(to water) is an -ar verb that is regular in the present perfect.

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

Infinitive	Spanish Past Participle	Translation
abrir	abierto	opened
morir	muerto	died
absolver	absuelto	absolved
poner	puesto	put
cubrir	cubierto	covered
decir	dicho	said
romper	roto	broken
escribir	escrito	written
resolver	resuelto	resolved
satisfacer	satisfecho	satisfied
hacer	hecho	done
ver	visto	seen
volver	vuelto	returned

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

examples
He limpiado la cocina esta mañana. I cleaned the kitchen this morning.
No he lavado la ropa todavía. I haven't done the laundry yet.
¿Has lavado los platos ya? Have you washed the dishes yet?

Present Perfect Trigger Words

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

Key Word in Spanish	Translation
aún	yet (negative phrases), still (affirmative and interrogative phrases)
ayer	yesterday
esta mañana	this morning
hoy	today
recientemente	recently
temprano	early
todavía	yet (negative phrases), still (affirmative and interrogative phrases)
ya	yet (interrogative phrases), already (affirmative phrases)

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

examples
No he quitado el polvo todavía. I haven't dusted yet.
No he regado las plantas aún. I haven't watered the plants yet.
¿Has sacado al perro ya? Have you taken the dog out yet?
Hemos recogido los juguetes ya. We've already picked up the toys.

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.

Recent Completed Actions

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

examples
Hemos ordenado la sala recientemente. We recently tidied up the living room.
Hemos recogido los juguetes ya. We've already picked up the toys.

Unfinished Situations

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

examples
No he planchado la ropa hoy. I haven't ironed the laundry today.
No han limpiado el polvo aún. They haven't dusted yet.

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.

Quiz Yourself!

Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!

Spanish Conversation

Fantastic! Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.

Carlos:

Viene mi madre. He limpiado la cocina esta mañana, pero no he lavado la ropa todavía.

My mom’s coming over. I cleaned the kitchen this morning, but I haven't done the laundry yet.

Mía:

Menos mal que hemos ordenado la sala recientemente.

Thank goodness that we recently tidied up the living room.

Carlos:

Sí. ¿Has lavado los platos ya?

Yeah. Have you washed the dishes yet?

Mía:

No. ¿Has vaciado ya el lavaplatos?

No. Have you emptied the dishwasher yet?

Carlos:

No. ¿Hemos limpiado los baños?

No. Have we cleaned the bathrooms?

Mía:

Sí. Menos mal. Hemos limpiado los baños ayer. ¿No te acuerdas?

Yeah. Thank goodness. We cleaned the bathrooms yesterday. Don’t you remember?

Want to learn more about how to cross off your to-dos in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• How to Talk About Chores in Spanish

• Describe Your Home in Spanish

• Clothing Vocabulary in Spanish