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A1.39.2 Spanish grammar: Haber + past participle (the present perfect)

Brief explanation of the grammatical topic 'haber + past participle' (the present perfect) using the verb 'take'.

Gramática: Haber + participio (el pretérito perfecto)

A1 Spanish Preterito perfecto

Level: A1

Module 6: La ciudad y el pueblo (The city and the village)

Lesson 39: Pedir comida y salir a cenar (Ordering food and dining out)

Learning history

Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

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  1. To form the present perfect, haber is conjugated followed by the past participle.
  2. The present perfect is used for actions that have happened recently or that have occurred but are still ongoing.
  3. The past participle of regular verbs is formed by adding the endings -ado (verbs ending in -ar) or -ido (for verbs ending in -er and -ir)
  4. The past participle is invariable. It is the same for all personal pronouns.
PersonaConjugación de "haber"Participio Ejemplo
Yohe (I have)tomado (taken)He tomado una bebida en el bar. (I have had a drink at the bar.)
Túhas (have)Has tomado el menú en el restaurante. (You have taken the menu in the restaurant.)
Él/ellaha (has)Ha tomado un plato en la pizzería. (Has taken a dish at the pizzeria.)
Nosotros/-ashemos (we have)Hemos tomado el postre en la cafetería. (We have had dessert in the café.)
Vosotros/-ashabéis (you have)Habéis tomado un café en el restaurante. (You have had a coffee in the restaurant.)
Ellos/-ashan (have)Han tomado la bebida que les gustaba. (They have taken the drink they liked.)

Exceptions!

  1. Some past participles are irregular. For example: escribir - escrito, abrir - abierto, hacer - hecho, decir - dicho, ver - visto, romper - roto.

Exercise 1: Haber + past participle (the present perfect)

Instruction: Choose the correct word, read the sentence out loud and translate.

Show answers Show translation

hemos tomado, hemos bebido, has tomado, he tomado, ha comido, han comido, has comido, he bebido, han bebido, habéis tomado

1. Beber: Ellos ... un zumo en la cafetería.

Ellos han bebido un zumo en la cafetería.
(They have drunk a juice in the café.)

2. Tomar: Tú ... tu plato favorito en el restaurante.

Tú has tomado tu plato favorito en el restaurante.
(You have taken your favourite dish in the restaurant.)

3. Comer: Ella ... un plato de pasta en el restaurante italiano.

Ella ha comido un plato de pasta en el restaurante italiano.
(She has eaten a plate of pasta at the Italian restaurant.)

4. Tomar: Nosotros ... una bebida fría en la cafetería.

Nosotros hemos tomado una bebida fría en la cafetería.
(We have had a cold drink in the café.)

5. Beber: Nosotras ... una bebida en el bar.

Nosotras hemos bebido una bebida en el bar.
(We have drunk a drink in the pub.)

6. Comer: Tú ... mucho hoy en la pizzería.

Tú has comido mucho hoy en la pizzería.
(You have eaten a lot today at the pizzeria.)

7. Tomar: Vosotros ... el menú para leerlo.

Vosotros habéis tomado el menú para leerlo.
(You have taken the menu to read it.)

8. Tomar: Yo ... un postre pequeño.

Yo he tomado un postre pequeño.
(I have had a small dessert.)

9. Beber: Yo ... un vaso de agua en el bar.

Yo he bebido un vaso de agua en el bar.
(I have drunk a glass of water in the pub.)

10. Comer: Ellas ... un postre después de la cena.

Ellas han comido un postre después de la cena.
(They have eaten a dessert after dinner.)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

Instruction: Translate and say the word out loud. Use the word in a sentence.

Show translation
1. Ha comido
(She has eaten)
2. Habéis tomado
(You have taken)
3. Has tomado
(You have taken)
4. He tomado
(I have had)
5. He bebido
(I have drunk)
6. Hemos bebido
(We have drunk)
7. Han bebido
(They have drunk)
8. Has comido
(You have eaten)