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Exercises
Complete the sentences with the pretérito perfecto of the verbs in brackets.
- Ya (terminar/yo) la carrera de periodismo.presente of haber + participle|1st person singular → he|regular ar-verb → ado-participleI’ve already finished my journalism degree.
- ¿(Tú/ir) al médico esta mañana?presente of haber + participle|2nd person singular → has|participle of ir → idoDid you go to the doctor this morning?
- Nosotros (apuntarse) a tu clase de baile.reflexive pronoun + presente of haber + participle|1st person plural → hemos|regular ar-verb → ado-participleWe registered for your dance class.
- ¿(Hacer/vosotros) el examen esta mañana?presente of haber + participle|2nd person plural → habéis|irregular participle → hechoDid you take the test this morning?
- A ellos les (gustar) mucho la comida del restaurante.presente of haber + participle|3rd person singular → ha|regular ar-verb → ado-participle|Note: the subject of the verb gustar is la comida, so we take the 3rd person singular conjugationThey really enjoyed the food at the restaurant.
Complete the sentences with the pretérito indefinido of the verbs in brackets.
- Justo (llamar/ellos) a la puerta mientras entraba en la ducha.regular -ar verb|3rd person plural → -aronThey rang the doorbell just as I was getting in the shower.
- El otro día (encontrarse/yo) con Pedro por la calle.regular reflexive -ar verb|1st person singular → -é|the reflexive pronoun (me) comes before the verbThe other day I bumped into Pedro on the street.
- Creo que no (estudiar/vosotros) suficiente para el examen.regular -ar verb|2nd person plural → -asteisI don’t think you’ve studied enough for the exam.
- Ayer Luis (conducir) por primera vez un camión.irregular verb: spelling change c → j|ending -oYesterday Luis drove a truck for the first time.
- La semana pasada (volver/nosostros) de nuestras vacaciones.regular |-er verb|1st person plural → -imosWe got back from holiday last week.
Choose between the perfect and the preterite to complete the gaps in the text.
El mes pasado en la universidad a través de su página web. Como no ninguna confirmación por correo durante los días siguientes, la semana pasada por teléfono.1. & 2. signal: el mes pasado → preterite|3. signal: la semana pasada → preteriteLast month I registered at university via their website. As I didn’t get any confirmation by post in the following days, I called them last week.
Durante la llamada, la secretaria en su ordenador y me extrañada:1. & 2. signal: durante la llamada (specific past time marker) → preteriteDuring the call, the secretary checked her computer and said to me, somewhat puzzled:
«Disculpe pero, sus datos en el ordenador y su nombre no .1. & 2. the actions have only just happened → perfect“I’m sorry, but I’ve entered your details into the computer and your name hasn’t appeared.
¿Está seguro de que el registro correctamente?»referring to an action further back in the past (the registration happened last month) → preterite“Are you sure that you completed the registration correctly?”
Yo : «Claro que sí. ¿No a ningún Alberto Sancho?»1. completed action further back in the past → preterite|2. asking about an action that affects the present moment → perfectI answered, “Of course I did. Haven’t you found an Alberto Sancho?”
La secretaria entonces: «No, solo a alguien con el nombre de Alberto Sanco…1. completed action further back in the past → preterite|2. action that has only just happened in the present → perfectThe secretary answered, “No, I’ve only seen someone by the name of Alberto Sanco …”
¿Usted el 3 de marzo de 1989?»signal: 1989 → preteriteWere you born on 3rd March 1989?
Al fin de que se trataba de un error.one-time past action, signal: al fin → preteriteI finally realised that it was a mistake.
«Vaya, lo siento, claramente mal mi apellido».one-time past action, further back in the past → preteriteI’m sorry, I clearly misspelled my surname.
Ayer el curso en la universidad y una cola interminable frente a la Secretaría.1. & 2. signal: ayer → preteriteYesterday my university course started and I saw a long queue in front of the secretary’s office.
: «Menos mal que antes de venir en contacto con la Secretaría la semana pasada y lo todo».1. signal: ayer (still from previous sentence) → preterite|2. & 3. signal: la semana pasada → preteriteI thought, “Good thing I contacted the secretary last week before I came and sorted everything out.
