In addition to the three main tenses of present, past, and future, the English language allows us to make three statements about accomplished facts

In addition to the three main tenses of present, past, and future, the English language allows us to make three statements about accomplished facts. We use one of the three perfect tenses to show an action that has taken place as of the present time or is continuing in the present time (present perfect tense), that had taken place as of a past time (past perfect tense), or that will have taken place as of a future time (future perfect tense). But what about the Spanish language?

In English, we use the perfect tense (have, has followed by a past participle) to talk about what has or hasn’t happened today, this week, this year or in our lives up to now. The Spanish perfect tense is used in a similar way.

The Present Perfect Tense

The Spanish present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto o el antepresente) is used to talk about things that started in the past and which continue or repeat in the present. It's also used to talk about things that have happened in the recent past. As in English, the perfect tense in Spanish has two parts to it. These are:

• the present tense of the verb haber (meaning to have)
• a part of the main verb called the past participle.

To form the past participle of regular -ar verbs, take off the -ar ending of the infinitive and add -ado.

• hablar (to speak) → hablado (spoken)

To form the past participle of regular -er or -ir verbs, take off the -er or -ir ending of the infinitive and add -ido.

• comer (to eat) → comido (eaten)
• vivir (to live) → vivido (lived)

EXAMPLES:

• He terminado el libro. → I’ve finished the book.
• Ya se han ido. → They’ve already left.
• Nunca ha estado en Bolivia. → He’s never been to Bolivia.
• Todavía no hemos comprado un ordenador. → We still haven’t bought a computer.

The Pluperfect Tense

"Pluperfect" (pluscuamperfecto in Spanish) it basically means the "imperfect perfect." The Spanish pluperfect tense describes a past action that happened before another past action. In other words, it is used to say what someone or something had done.

The imperfect tense forms of haber (only to be used with a past participle):

EXAMPLES:

• Ella ya había visto la película tres veces. → She had already seen the movie three times.
• Yo había conocido a Carlos varias veces antes. → I had met Carlos several times before.

The Future Perfect Tense

The Spanish future perfect indicative (el futuro compuesto ) is used to talk about something that will have been completed at a certain point in the future. It can also indicate probability, or what might have or could have happened. The future tense forms of haber:

EXAMPLES:

• Yo habré viajado a cinco estados. → I will have travelled to five states.
• Tú habrás estudiado medicina por 10 años. → You will have studied medicince for 10 years.

The Conditional Perfect

The conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto o el antepospretérito ) describes an action in the past that would have happened but did not due to some other event. It can also be used to express the probability of an action that has already been completed. The conditional tense forms of haber:

EXAMPLES:

• Él habría dado el dinero. → He would have given you the money.
• Yo habría hecho la tarea con más tiempo. → I would have done the homework with more time.

The Present Perfect Subjunctive

The present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo ) is used to describe past actions that are connected to the present, as well as actions that will have happened by a certain point in the future. The present subjunctive forms of haber:

EXAMPLES:

• Yo dudo que Carlos haya hecho su tarea. → I doubt that Carlos has done his homework.
• Me alegro mucho que todos hayan pasado la prueba. → I'm very happy that everyone has passed the test.

The Pluperfect Subjunctive

The pluperfect subjunctive is normally used in dependent clauses that describe an action which precedes the action of a main clause in the past tense. The pluperfect subjunctive forms of haber:

EXAMPLES:

• Mi familia esperaba que nosotros hubiéramos llegado a tiempo. → My family hoped that we had arrived on time.
• Me alegraba mucho que todos hubieran pasado la prueba. → I was very happy that everyone had passed the test.

In conclusion, I would like to say that learning foreign languages is a difficult thing. Especially if we talk about tenses, but it is important to understand the importance of any tenses in language. The tenses are the most important part of any language. If you wish to write a correct sentence or wish to say anything to anyone, you need to express the idea in the right form of tenses. Each tense in Spanish or English is important, unique, and useful.