The Past Perfect in Spanish
The past perfect is formed by combining the auxiliary verb “had” with the past participle.
I had studied.
He had written a letter to María.
We had been stranded for six days.
Because the past perfect is a compound tense, two verbs are required: the main verb and the auxiliary verb.
I had studied.
(main verb: studied ; auxiliary verb: had)He had written a letter to María.
(main verb: written ; auxiliary verb: had)We had been stranded for six days.
(main verb: been ; auxiliary verb: had)
In Spanish, the past perfect tense is formed by using the imperfect tense of the auxiliary verb “haber” with the past participle. Haber is conjugated as follows:
³ó²¹²úò¹
³ó²¹²úò¹s
³ó²¹²úò¹
³ó²¹²úò¹mos
³ó²¹²úò¹is
³ó²¹²úò¹n
You have already learned in a previous lesson that the past participle is formed by dropping the infinitive ending and adding either -ado or -ido. Remember, some past participles are irregular. The following examples all use the past participle for the verb “vivir.”
(yo) HabÃa vivido.
I had lived.(tú) HabÃas vivido.
You had lived.(él) HabÃa vivido.
He had lived.(nosotros) HabÃamos vivido.
We had lived.(vosotros) HabÃais vivido.
You-all had lived.(ellos) HabÃan vivido.
They had lived.
For a review of the formation of the past participle [click here].
When you studied the past participle, you practiced using it as an adjective. When used as an adjective, the past participle changes to agree with the noun it modifies. However, when used in the perfect tenses, the past participle never changes.
Past participle used as an adjective:
La puerta está cerrada.
The door is closed.Past participle used in the past perfect tense:
Yo ³ó²¹²úò¹ cerrado la puerta.
I had closed the door.
Here’s a couple of more examples:
Past participle used as an adjective:
Las puertas están abiertas..
The doors are open.Past participle used in the past perfect tense:
Juan ³ó²¹²úò¹ abierto las puertas.
Juan had opened the doors.
Note that when used to form the perfect tenses, only the base form (abierto) is used.
Let’s look more carefully at the last example:
Juan ³ó²¹²úò¹ abierto las puertas.
Juan had opened the doors.
Notice that we use “³ó²¹²úò¹” to agree with “Juan”. We do NOT use “³ó²¹²úò¹n” to agree with “puertas.” The auxiliary verb is conjugated for the subject of the sentence, not the object. Compare these two examples:
Juan ³ó²¹²úò¹ abierto las puertas.
Juan had opened the doors.Juan y María ³ó²¹²úò¹n puesto mucho dinero en el banco.
Juan and Maria had put a lot of money in the bank.
In the first example, we use “³ó²¹²úò¹” because the subject of the sentence is “Juan.” In the second example, we use “³ó²¹²úò¹n” because the subject of the sentence is “Juan y María.”
The past perfect tense is used when a past action was completed prior to another past action. Expressions such as “ya”, “antes”, “nunca”, “todavÃa” and “después” will often appear in sentences where one action was completed before another.
Cuando llegaron los padres, los niños ya ³ó²¹²úò¹n comido.
When the parents arrived, the children had already eaten.Yo ³ó²¹²úò¹ comido antes de llamarles.
I had eaten prior to calling them.
This idea of a past action being completed before another past action need not always be stated; it can be implied.
Juan ³ó²¹²úò¹ cerrado la ventana antes de salir. (stated)
Juan had closed the window before leaving.Juan ³ó²¹²úò¹ cerrado la ventana. (implied)
Juan had closed the window.
The auxiliary verb and the past participle are never separated. To make the sentence negative, add the word “no” before the conjugated form of haber.
(yo) No ³ó²¹²úò¹ vivido.
I had not lived.(tú) No ³ó²¹²úò¹s vivido.
You had not lived.(él) No ³ó²¹²úò¹ vivido.
He had not lived.(nosotros) No ³ó²¹²úò¹mos vivido.
We had not lived.(vosotros) No ³ó²¹²úò¹is vivido.
You-all had not lived.(ellos) No ³ó²¹²úò¹n vivido.
They had not lived.
Again, the auxiliary verb and the past participle are never separated. Object pronouns are placed immediately before the auxiliary verb.
Pablo le ³ó²¹²úò¹ dado mucho dinero a su hermana.
Pablo had given a lot of money to his sister.
To make this sentence negative, the word “no” is placed before the indirect object pronoun (le).
Pablo no le ³ó²¹²úò¹ dado mucho dinero a su hermana.
Pablo had not given a lot of money to his sister.
With reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun is placed immediatedly before the auxiliary verb. Compare how the present perfect differs from the simple present, when a reflexive verb is used.
Me lavo las manos. (present)
I wash my hands.Me ³ó²¹²úò¹ lavado las manos. (past perfect)
I had washed my hands.
To make this sentence negative, the word “no” is placed before the reflexive pronoun (me).
No me ³ó²¹²úò¹ lavado las manos.
I had not washed my hands.
For a review of reflexive verbs click [here] and [here].
Questions are formed as follows. Note how the word order is different than the English equivalent.
¿HabÃan llegado ya las chicas?
Had the girls arrived yet?¿HabÃas probado ya el postre?
Had you tried the dessert yet?
Here are the same questions in negative form. Notice how the auxiliary verb and the past participle are not separated.
¿No ³ó²¹²úò¹n llegado ya las chicas?
Hadn’t the girls arrived yet?¿No ³ó²¹²úò¹s probado ya el postre?
Hadn’t you tried the dessert yet?