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Present perfect in Spanish - pretérito perfecto compuesto |
The present perfect tense in English has a large overlap with the Spanish equivalent, the pretérito perfecto compuesto.
They are both used to refer to events that have taken place within a window of time, sometimes called a 'temporal stage', that the speaker is still in.1
"De manera general, puede decirse que esta forma verbal se usa para referirse a hechos pasados que tienen relación con la zona temporal en la que se encuentra el hablante, como por ejemplo en la frase: 'Este fin de semana hemos disfrutado mucho', frente a 'Aquel fin de semana disfrutamos mucho'. El hecho o acción 'disfrutar' se sitúa en la zona temporal en la que el hablante ha decidido colocarse, cosa que hace al emplear el determinante este en 'Este fin de semana', aunque el fin de semana pueda haber pasado. De haberse empleado una expresión como 'Aquel fin de semana', el hablante habría alejado de sí dicha zona temporal, y el empleo del pretérito perfecto compuesto no habría tenido justificación".2
-Este año ha habido un terremoto — There has been an earthquake this year [Within the current temporal stage]
→El mes pasado hubo un terremoto — Last month there was an earthquake [Outside the current temporal stage]
→Ha habido terremotos aquí — There have been earthquakes here [At some point in history or recently; within the current temporal stage; extending the temporal stage from now until the beginning of time]
Hoy he estado en el gimnasio — I've been to the gym today
→Ayer estuve en el gimnasio — Yesterday I was at the gym [On a specific occasion outside the current temporal stage]
→He estado en el gimnasio — I've been to the gym [At least once, at some point in history or recently; within the current temporal stage; extending the temporal stage from now until the beginning of time]
There are several other uses of the pretérito perfecto compuesto, which can be seen in this table shown in the NGLE.
One of the key differences between English and Spanish, though, is the use of the so-called préterito perfecto de sucesos recientes.1
Recency - Hechos recientes
In most of Spain, the present perfect is used for events that have happened recently (usually within the same day), regardless of whether they fall outside the temporal stage that includes the present. The difference between English and Spanish is subtle here.
In English, the present perfect is not generally used for one-off events that have happened in the past unless there is a real reason to include them in the present temporal stage, e.g. because they affect the present, they are relevant to the present or they are things expected to happen in the present, etc.
Compare:
1) -¿Qué me has dicho? -Yo no he dicho nada — -What did you say? -I didn't say anything [Hechos recientes; referring to a specific event in the past, considered outside the current temporal stage in English]
→b) ¿Qué te he dicho de pedir favores? — What have I told you about asking for favours? [Experiencial; referring to in general within the current temporal stage, i.e. in our life, up until now, recently]
2) ¿Cómo has podido hacerlo? — How could you do it/how did you manage to do it? [Hechos recientes; referring to a specific event outside the current temporal stage in English]
→b) ¿Has podido hacerlo? — Have you managed to do it? [Referring to in general, within the current temporal stage, i.e. our life, up until now, yet, ever]
3) -¿Por qué sigue vivo? -No he podido matarlo — Why is he still alive? -I couldn't kill him [Hechos recientes; referring to specific event considered to be outwith the present temporal stage in English]
→b) -¿Has limpiado el coche? -No he podido hacerlo — Have you cleaned the car? -No, I haven't been able to do it [Still in time window; haven't been able to yet, or ever, recently]
4) -Y eso... ¿Qué ha sido? ¿Lo has oído? -Creo que ha sido el calentador— What was that? Did you hear it? -I think it was the boiler [Hechos recientes; in English, the specific event is generally moved outside the current temporal stage]
→ b) -Y el ruido del sótano. ¿Lo has oído? — And the noise from the cellar... have you heard it? [Experiencial; including the event in the current temporal stage; have you heard it yet, have you ever heard it]
When mentioning past time adverbials, the present perfect is generally not possible in English; in Spanish, meanwhile, the pretérito perfecto compuesto can be used for events that are no longer in the present time window if they are hechos recientes.3
-Esta mañana Juan ha ido a Córdoba — This morning Juan went to Córdoba
-Me ha llamado hace unas horas — He called me a few hours ago
-Tu hermana es una dormilona. Se ha levantado a las 10 (same day) — Your sister is a sleepyhead. She got up at 10
-Ha llegado hace un rato — He arrived not long ago
-Hoy he llegado tarde al trabajo — I was late for work today
Note that this use of the present perfect is not the norm in many Spanish-speaking countries, and in Spain itself, speakers from several regions, including Galicia, may opt for the past simple in the examples above.
Since the present perfect is generally used for recent events, the pretérito indefinido can be used to distance the event in the mind of the speaker, moving it onto a past temporal stage.
"Evitar y sustituir el pretérito compuesto por el pretérito indefinido permite al hablante que hace un uso más generalizado de aquel tomar distancia de un hecho reciente del que, aunque se relacione con el presente (razón por la cual se debería emplear el pretérito perfecto compuesto), se quiere remarcar el rechazo o el disgusto que suscita. Por ejemplo, si se acaba de terminar una tarea difícil, aunque lo común sería decir: 'Por fin he acabado', sustituyendo el tiempo perfecto por el indefinido, queda: 'Por fin acabé', con lo que el hablante expresa implícitamente su deseo de alejarse de una tarea que le ha resultado desagradable".2
-No te preocupes, cariño, ya pasó — Don't worry, honey; it's over now
-Por fin se terminó el concierto — The concert is over, at last
-¡Se acabó! — That's it! / We're through
-Ya llegó — He's arrived
- Remember: to describe ongoing events in the present that have started in the past, the presente+desde hace or llevar+gerundio constructions are the norm. In Spanish (in Spain) the present perfect is only used for events that have finished.
In Español-Avanzado Articles
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-Present perfect in Spanish-
