Present perfect (pretérito perfecto compuesto)

Hoy he comido paella por primera vez.Today I've eaten paella for the first time.

The present perfect (pretérito perfecto compuesto) links a past action to the present moment — something that's happened at some point in your life, or within a stretch of time (today, this week) that isn't over yet. It's built from two pieces: a form of haber and a past participle.

Quick shortcut: haber (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) + past participle (-ado for -ar, -ido for -er/-ir). He hablado, has comido, ha vivido.

How to build it

Haber conjugates for the subject; the past participle never changes:

The participle itself is built from the infinitive: -ar verbs take -ado (hablar → hablado), and -er/-ir verbs take -ido (comer → comido, vivir → vivido).

He hablado con ella. (I've spoken with her.) ¿Has comido ya? (Have you eaten yet?) Hemos vivido aquí diez años. (We've lived here for ten years.)

Irregular past participles

A handful of common verbs have a short, irregular participle instead of the regular -ado/-ido form:

¿Qué has hecho hoy? (What have you done today?) Ella ha escrito una carta. (She's written a letter.) These participles keep their irregular form no matter which subject haber is conjugated for.

When to use the present perfect

The present perfect connects an action to now — it's used for:

• Life experiences, without saying exactly when: He estado en México. (I've been to Mexico.) ¿Has probado el ceviche? (Have you tried ceviche?)
• Actions within a time period that hasn't finished yet: hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este mes, este año. Esta semana he trabajado mucho. (This week I've worked a lot.)
• Recent events with present relevance: Ha llegado el paquete. (The package has arrived — and it's presumably still here.)

In Spain, the present perfect is also the everyday choice for same-day events (Hoy he comido paella), while in much of Latin America the preterite is more common for the same idea (Hoy comí paella) — both are correct, and this is a regional preference rather than a strict rule. In most standard varieties, events clearly outside the current time period (ayer, el año pasado) take the preterite instead — though some regional varieties, notably parts of the Andean region, also use the present perfect there.

Common mistakes

• ❌ He hablado con ella ayer. → ✅ Hablé con ella ayer. (in most standard varieties, a time marker outside the current period, like ayer, calls for the preterite, not the present perfect)
• ❌ He lo visto. → ✅ Lo he visto. (an object pronoun goes right before the conjugated form of haber, never between haber and the participle)
• ❌ Ella ha hablada mucho. → ✅ Ella ha hablado mucho. (the participle in this compound tense never agrees with the subject — it's always the fixed form ending in -o, unlike a participle used as an adjective)
• ❌ Habemos comido ya. → ✅ Hemos comido ya. (the nosotros form of haber is hemos, not habemos)

Quick check

Here are five sentences to complete with the present perfect form of the verb in parentheses.

1. Yo ___ (visitar) Perú dos veces.
2. ¿Tú ___ (ver) esa película?
3. Nosotros ___ (hacer) toda la tarea.
4. Ella todavía no ___ (escribir) el correo.
5. Ellos ___ (volver) de vacaciones hoy.

Key takeaways

• The present perfect is built from haber (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus a past participle (-ado/-ido), which never changes form.
• A handful of common verbs have irregular participles: hecho, dicho, visto, puesto, escrito, vuelto, abierto, muerto, roto, cubierto.
• Use it for life experiences and for actions within a time period that hasn't finished yet (hoy, esta semana, este año).
• Object pronouns go before the conjugated haber, never between haber and the participle.
• Spain leans on the present perfect for same-day events more than much of Latin America does — a regional preference, not a hard rule.