Perfect or Preterite in Spanish Grammar

Perfect vs. preterite

The perfect tense (pretérito perfecto) and the preterite tense (indefinido) are both used for past actions in Spanish grammar, however, they are not interchangeable.

The preterite tense is used for past actions that happened at a specific moment in the past. The perfect tense is used for actions that take place in a time frame that is still ongoing, or for past actions that continue to influence the present.

Often (but not always!) we can compare the preterite to the simple past in English (I did, I asked, I went …) and the perfect to the present perfect in English (I’ve done, I’ve asked, I’ve been …).

Learn the difference between the perfect and the preterite tenses in Spanish grammar with Lingolia’s tense comparison. Practise using these tenses in the interactive exercises.

Contents

El mes pasado me apunté a clases de tenis.

En la primera clase, el profesor nos hizo calentar y después nos lanzó bolas para practicar. Corrimos durante los primeros quince minutos alrededor de la pista. Al final de la clase, se puso a llover a cántaros.

La clase de esta semana ha sido agotadora, pero he aprendido a dar a la bola con la mano izquierda.

How to conjugate the perfect tense in Spanish

To conjugate the perfect tense in Spanish (el pretérito perfecto), we take the presente of the verb haber followed by the participle of the main verb.

Person haber Participle
yo he

hablado

aprendido

vivido
tù has
él/ella/usted ha
nosotros/-as hemos
vosotros/-as habéis
ellos/-as, ustedes han

Visit our page dedicated to the perfect tense in Spanish grammar for a deep dive on all things conjugation.

How to conjugate the preterite tense in Spanish

To conjugate the preterite tense in Spanish grammar, we remove the infinitive endings (-ar/-ir/-er) and add the following endings to the stem:

-ar
hablar		 -er
aprender		 -ir
vivir
hablé aprendí viví
hablaste aprendiste viviste
habló aprendió vivió
hablamos aprendimos vivimos
hablasteis aprendisteis vivisteis
hablaron aprendieron vivieron

Note that the endings for -er and -ir verbs are the same.

Go to our page all about the preterite tense in Spanish grammar to learn more about its conjugation.

When to use the perfect and the preterite

Perfect

The Spanish perfect expresses:

  • past actions that happened during a time period that extends up to and includes the present moment (este mesthis month, hoytoday …)
    Example:
    La clase de esta semana ha sido agotadora.This week’s class has been exhausting.

Preterite

The preterite expresses:

  • one-time past actions that happened in a completed time period
    Example:
    El mes pasado me apunté a clases de tenis.Last month I signed up for tennis lessons.
  • sequential past actions
    Example:
    En la primera clase, el profesor nos hizo calentar y después nos lanzó bolas para practicar.In the first class, the teacher made us warm up and then threw us balls to practice.
  • past actions with a specific start and end point
    Example:
    Corrimos durante los primeros quince minutos alrededor de la pista.For the first 15 minutes we ran around the track.
  • sudden actions that happened while another was already in progress
    Example:
    Al final de la clase, se puso a llover a cántaros.At the end of the class, it started pouring down.

Signal Words

Signal words can help us choose between similar tenses like the perfect tense and the preterite tense.

This lists below show the most common signal words for the perfect and preterite tenses in Spanish grammar.

List of Signal Words for the Perfect

  • esta mañana/semana/…this morning/this week …
    este mes/verano/año/siglo/…this month/this summer/this year/this century …
    Example:
    Esta mañana me he despertado a las seis.I woke up at six this morning.
  • hoytoday
    Example:
    Hoy no he comprado el periódico.I haven’t bought the newspaper today.
  • últimamenterecently
    Example:
    ¿Has tomado el sol últimamente?Have you sunbathed recently?
  • nuncanever
    Example:
    Nunca he ido a México.I’ve never been to Mexico.
  • siemprealways
    Example:
    He vivido siempre en esta casa.I’ve always lived in this house.
  • yaalready/yet
    Example:
    La ducha ya se ha roto dos veces.The shower has already broken twice.
  • aún, todavíayet/still
    Example:
    Aún no he regado las plantas.I haven’t watered the plants yet.
  • haceago (more recent past)
    Example:
    He llegado a casa hace diez minutos.I got home ten minutes ago.

List of Signal Words for the Preterite

  • ayeryesterday
    Example:
    Ayer me desperté a las seis.I woke up at six yesterday.
  • el año pasadolast year
    Example:
    El año pasado fui a México.Last year, I went to Mexico.
  • la semana pasadalast week
    Example:
    La semana pasada no compré el periódico.I didn’t buy the newspaper last week.
  • en (mes, estación, año)in + month/season/year)
    Example:
    En 2010 me mudé a esta casa.I moved into this house in 2010.
  • de repentesuddenly
    Example:
    De repente, se rompió la ducha.Suddenly, the shower broke.
  • anochelast night
    Example:
    Anoche regué las plantas.Last night, I watered the plants.
  • nuncanever
    Example:
    En el colegio, nunca suspendí un examen.I never failed an exam at school.
  • haceago (more distant past)
    Example:
    Terminé la carrera de Biología hace más de diez años.I finished my biology degree over ten years ago.

To Note

Latin America and some parts of Spain do not use the perfect tense (or compound tenses in general).

In these regions, only the preterite is used.

Example:
Esta mañana fui a clase de tenis.This morning I went to my tennis lesson.