Two pieces: haber + participle
The Spanish present perfect (pretérito perfecto) is haber in the present plus a past participle: he comido, I have eaten. Haber is only ever an auxiliary here; “to have” something is tener.
| haber | + participle | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he | hablado |
| tú | has | comido |
| él / ella / usted | ha | vivido |
| nosotros | hemos | hecho |
| vosotros | habéis | visto |
| ellos / ustedes | han | dicho |
Regular participles are easy: -ar → -ado (hablado), -er / -ir → -ido (comido, vivido). Two rules protect you from the common slips: the participle never changes for gender or number (ella ha llegado, not llegada), and nothing goes between haber and the participle. Pronouns go in front: me he levantado, no lo he visto.
The irregular participles you need
| Verb | Participle |
|---|---|
| hacer | hecho |
| decir | dicho |
| ver | visto |
| escribir | escrito |
| poner | puesto |
| volver | vuelto |
| abrir | abierto |
| romper | roto |
| morir | muerto |
| resolver | resuelto |
| cubrir / descubrir | cubierto / descubierto |
| freír | frito (freído is also accepted) |
Compounds inherit the form: deshacer → deshecho, devolver → devuelto, componer → compuesto, describir → descrito.
Accents on -ído
When the stem ends in a vowel, the i of -ido is stressed and needs an accent: leído, oído, creído, traído, caído, reído. Without it, leido would be read as two syllables.
When to use it
For past actions connected to now: an unfinished period (hoy, esta semana, este año), life experience (¿Has estado en México?), and very recent events. In Spain it is the normal past for anything that happened today: Esta mañana he desayunado tarde. In most of Latin America the preterite is preferred for completed events (esta mañana desayuné tarde), and the present perfect keeps the experience and “still ongoing” meanings. Both are correct; this drill only tests the forms.
Quick answers
How do you form the present perfect in Spanish?
Present tense of haber (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle: he hablado, has comido, hemos vivido. Regular participles end in -ado (-ar verbs) or -ido (-er and -ir verbs).
What are the irregular past participles in Spanish?
The most common are hecho (hacer), dicho (decir), visto (ver), escrito (escribir), puesto (poner), vuelto (volver), abierto (abrir), roto (romper), muerto (morir), resuelto (resolver) and cubierto (cubrir). Freír has two accepted participles, frito and freído.
Is it he leído or he leido?
He leído, with an accent. When the verb stem ends in a vowel, the i of -ido takes an accent: leído, oído, creído, traído, caído.
Does the participle agree with the subject in the present perfect?
No. After haber the participle is invariable: ella ha llegado, ellas han llegado. It only agrees when it is used as an adjective with estar or ser: la puerta está abierta.
Is it he comido or comí?
Both are correct past forms. In Spain, he comido is used for today and for periods that include the present (esta semana, este año). In most of Latin America comí is preferred for finished events, and he comido is kept for experiences (nunca he comido paella) and things that are still true.