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Spanish 3 Unit 7: Perfect Tenses (Pluperfect, Future Perfect)

This unit covers the compound perfect tenses beyond the present perfect: the pluperfect, future perfect, conditional perfect and the perfect subjunctive forms. All use haber plus a past participle and place actions in order relative to another time.

Covers: Regular and irregular past participles, The pluperfect, The future perfect, The conditional perfect, Perfect subjunctive forms, Past contrary-to-fact si clauses

Study guide

Every perfect tense uses a form of haber plus a past participle. Regular participles end in -ado for -ar verbs and -ido for -er and -ir verbs: hablado, comido, vivido. Common irregular participles include abierto, cubierto, dicho, escrito, hecho, muerto, puesto, roto, visto and vuelto, and compounds follow them (descubierto, devuelto, supuesto). When -er/-ir stems end in a vowel, the -ido takes an accent: leído, creído, oído, traído. In perfect tenses the participle never changes for gender or number, and nothing comes between haber and the participle: object pronouns and no go before haber (No lo he visto).

The pluperfect (past perfect) uses the imperfect of haber: había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían + participle. It means had done and describes an action completed before another past action or time: Cuando llegué, la película ya había empezado (When I arrived, the movie had already started). Words like ya (already), todavía no (not yet) and antes (before) often appear with it. Contrast: Cuando llegué, la película empezó means the movie started when or after I arrived. The pluperfect is essential for telling stories in the correct order.

The future perfect uses the future of haber: habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán + participle. It means will have done and describes an action that will be completed before a future point: Para el viernes habré terminado el proyecto. Para + a time and dentro de are common signals. Like the simple future, it can also express probability, here about the recent past: Habrá salido means He has probably left. The conditional perfect uses habría, habrías, etc. + participle and means would have done: Yo habría ido, pero estaba enfermo. It is the result clause in past contrary-to-fact si sentences.

The subjunctive also has perfect forms. The present perfect subjunctive (haya + participle) follows a present trigger when the action is completed: Me alegro de que hayas venido. The pluperfect subjunctive (hubiera + participle) follows a past trigger for an earlier action: Me alegré de que hubieras venido, and it is the si clause for past contrary-to-fact conditions: Si hubiera sabido, te habría llamado (If I had known, I would have called you). In many regions the pluperfect subjunctive can also replace the conditional perfect in the result clause (Si lo hubiera sabido, te hubiera llamado), but the habría form is the safer choice on tests.

Choosing a perfect tense is a matter of timeline. Ask: what is the reference point, and did the action happen before it? Reference point now: present perfect (he comido). Reference point in the past: pluperfect (había comido). Reference point in the future: future perfect (habré comido). Reference point hypothetical: conditional perfect (habría comido). Then ask whether a trigger requires the subjunctive: haya comido after a present trigger, hubiera comido after a past trigger or in a past si clause. Building a short timeline in the margin is the fastest way to solve tense questions in reading passages.

Key ideas

• All perfect tenses are haber + past participle, and the participle does not change form.
• Irregular participles (dicho, hecho, escrito, puesto, visto, vuelto, roto, abierto, muerto) must be memorized.
• The pluperfect (había + participle) describes an action before another past action.
• The future perfect (habré + participle) describes an action completed before a future point, or probability about the recent past.
• The conditional perfect (habría + participle) means would have and is the result of past contrary-to-fact conditions.
• Haya + participle follows present triggers; hubiera + participle follows past triggers.
• Pronouns and no go before haber, never between haber and the participle.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Regularizing irregular participles (*escribido, *hacido, *ponido, *rompido).
• Making the participle agree with the subject in a perfect tense (*Ellas han salidas).
• Using the preterite instead of the pluperfect for the earlier of two past actions.
• Placing pronouns between haber and the participle (*He lo visto).
• Using the conditional perfect in the si clause (*Si habría sabido).

Before the test, make sure you can

• Form regular and irregular past participles.
• Form and use the pluperfect to show the earlier of two past actions.
• Form and use the future perfect, including for probability.
• Form and use the conditional perfect.
• Build past contrary-to-fact si sentences with hubiera and habría.
• Choose between haya + participle and hubiera + participle.
• Place object pronouns and no correctly in perfect tenses.

Words to know

ya

already

todavía no

not yet

para entonces

by then

antes de

before

nunca antes

never before

para el lunes

by Monday

abierto

opened

cubierto

covered

descubierto

discovered

resuelto

solved

impreso

printed

frito

fried

mudarse

to move (residence)

casarse

to get married

lograr

to achieve

darse cuenta de

to realize

arrepentirse de

to regret

de repente

suddenly

mientras tanto

meanwhile

al final

in the end

por fin

finally

Sample practice questions

30 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.