Perfect Tenses

Perfect tenses describe actions that are completed relative to a specific time or moment, or that have relevance to the present or another reference point. They use the auxiliary verb haber plus a past participle.

Present Perfect

The present perfect (pretérito perfecto) expresses actions that have occurred at an unspecified time before now and often have relevance to the present moment.

Formation

Form the present perfect with the present tense of haber and the past participle.

Spanish Conjugation	English Translation
yo he	I have
tú has	you have
él/ella/ud. ha	he/she/you (formal) has
nosotros/as hemos	we have
vosotros/as habéis	you all have
ellos/ellas/uds. han	they/you all (formal) have

The past participle is formed by adding -ado to -ar verbs and -ido to -er and -ir verbs.

Spanish Example	English Translation
☝️ He estudiado antes de la reunión.	I have studied before the meeting.
✌️ Has preparado la presentación.	You have prepared the presentation.
☝️☝️ Ha enviado los correos.	He/She has sent the emails.
👥 Hemos organizado el calendario.	We have organized the calendar.
👍 Habéis revisado los documentos.	You all have reviewed the documents.
👨‍👩‍👧 Han confirmado la cita.	They have confirmed the appointment.

Usage

Use the present perfect to talk about experiences, recent actions with present relevance, and actions that affect the current situation.

Examples

Spanish Example	English Translation
📧 He enviado cinco correos hoy.	I have sent five emails today.
☕ He hablado con tres clientes esta mañana.	I have spoken with three clients this morning.
🗂️ He organizado las tareas de la semana.	I have organized the tasks for the week.
🧑‍🏫 He aprendido una nueva herramienta de gestión.	I have learned a new management tool.

Past Perfect

The past perfect (pluscuamperfecto) describes an action that was completed before another past moment or event. It provides background and sequence in narratives.

Formation

Form the past perfect with the imperfect tense of haber and the past participle.

Spanish Conjugation	English Translation
yo había	I had
tú habías	you had
él/ella/ud. había	he/she/you (formal) had
nosotros/as habíamos	we had
vosotros/as habíais	you all had
ellos/ellas/uds. habían	they/you all (formal) had

Spanish Example	English Translation
📝 Había hecho un borrador antes de la reunión.	I had made a draft before the meeting.
📞 Habías llamado al cliente antes de enviar la propuesta.	You had called the client before sending the proposal.
📊 Había preparado los informes antes del viernes.	He/She had prepared the reports before Friday.
🗃️ Habíamos archivado todo antes del cierre del mes.	We had filed everything before month-end.
📌 Habíais destacado los puntos clave del proyecto.	You all had highlighted the key points of the project.
🧾 Habían revisado las facturas antes de pagarlas.	They had reviewed the invoices before paying them.

Usage

Use the past perfect to show an earlier completed action relative to another past event, to give context, or to explain cause and effect.

Examples

Spanish Example	English Translation
🔒 Había cerrado todas las tareas antes de salir.	I had closed all tasks before leaving.
🛠️ Habían solucionado el problema antes de la reunión de equipo.	They had solved the problem before the team meeting.
📬 Había enviado recordatorios a todos los participantes.	I had sent reminders to all participants.
📅 Habíamos coordinado las fechas con todos los departamentos.	We had coordinated the dates with all departments.

Future Perfect

The future perfect expresses that an action will have been completed by a certain point in the future. It is useful for making assumptions about the past relative to a future moment.

Formation

Form the future perfect with the future tense of haber and the past participle.

Spanish Conjugation	English Translation
yo habré	I will have
tú habrás	you will have
él/ella/ud. habrá	he/she/you (formal) will have
nosotros/as habremos	we will have
vosotros/as habréis	you all will have
ellos/ellas/uds. habrán	they/you all (formal) will have

Spanish Example	English Translation
📨 Habré enviado el informe para las cinco.	I will have sent the report by five.
📲 Habrás confirmado la reunión antes de mediodía.	You will have confirmed the meeting before noon.
✅ Habrá completado las tareas asignadas.	He/She will have completed the assigned tasks.
🗓️ Habremos organizado todo para la presentación.	We will have organized everything for the presentation.
📨 Habréis distribuido los materiales del taller.	You all will have distributed the workshop materials.
📣 Habrán informado a los clientes sobre los cambios.	They will have informed the clients about the changes.

Usage

Use the future perfect to express completion by a future time, to make guesses about past actions from a future perspective, and to plan deadlines.

Examples

Spanish Example	English Translation
🌟 Para entonces, habré terminado la preparación del evento.	By then, I will have finished preparing the event.
⏰ Habremos enviado todo antes de la fecha límite.	We will have sent everything before the deadline.
🧳 Habrá organizado su agenda para el viaje de negocios.	He/She will have organized their schedule for the business trip.
📞 Habrán contactado a todos los proveedores.	They will have contacted all the suppliers.

Conditional Perfect

The conditional perfect describes actions that would have occurred under certain circumstances. It is often used in hypothetical scenarios and to soften past critiques.

Formation

Form the conditional perfect with the conditional tense of haber and the past participle.

Spanish Conjugation	English Translation
yo habría	I would have
tú habrías	you would have
él/ella/ud. habría	he/she/you (formal) would have
nosotros/as habríamos	we would have
vosotros/as habríais	you all would have
ellos/ellas/uds. habrían	they/you all (formal) would have

Spanish Example	English Translation
📧 Habría enviado el correo si hubiera tenido tu dirección.	I would have sent the email if I had your address.
📝 Habrías preparado la agenda con más tiempo.	You would have prepared the agenda with more time.
📂 Habría organizado los archivos, pero no tenía acceso.	He/She would have organized the files, but did not have access.
📬 Habríamos enviado las invitaciones, si estuviera listo el listado.	We would have sent the invitations if the list were ready.
📤 Habríais compartido el documento, si funcionara el enlace.	You all would have shared the document if the link worked.
📲 Habrían confirmado la asistencia si recibieran el mensaje.	They would have confirmed attendance if they received the message.

Usage

Use the conditional perfect for past hypotheticals, regrets, and polite suppositions about past events.

Examples

Spanish Example	English Translation
🙏 Habría ayudado con la presentación si me lo hubieras pedido.	I would have helped with the presentation if you had asked me.
⚠️ Habríamos revisado el contrato, pero llegó tarde.	We would have reviewed the contract, but it arrived late.
🕒 Habría respondido antes si no hubiera habido tanto trabajo.	I would have responded earlier if there hadn’t been so much work.
📵 Habrían llamado si hubieran tenido tiempo.	They would have called if they had had time.

Summary

Perfect tenses pair haber in various moods and times with a past participle to situate actions relative to now, other past moments, or future points. The present perfect links to the present, the past perfect sequences past events, and the future and conditional perfects handle projections and hypotheticals.

Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025