Using Haber and Estar for Spanish Compound Past Tenses

Using Haber and Estar for Spanish Compound Past Tenses Spanish students usually learn fairly early in their coursework that Spanish has two simple past tenses, the preterite and the imperfect. However, these two past tenses arent the only past tenses available. Auxiliary verbs can also be used to form perfect and progressive, also known as continuous, tenses, some of which refer to the past. Present Perfect Despite its name, the present perfect tense refers to past actions. It is formed by using the present tense of haber followed by the past participle and is the rough equivalent of the same tense in English. Thus He estudiado - he is the first-person indicative singular form of haber, and estudiado is the past participle of estudiar - would usually be translated as I have studied, where studied is the past participle of to study. In general, the present perfect tense is used to discuss actions that took place in the past but still have relevance to the present or are continuing up to the present. Note, however, that the present perfect tense of Spanish doesnt always coincide exactly with that of English; in some cases, the tense in Spanish may be translated to the English using the simple past. And there are regional variations in the tenses as well; especially in Spain, for example, it is common to use the present perfect for very recent events. Nunca he conocido a nadie como tà º. (I have never met someone like you.) ¿Cul es el mejor CD que has comprado? (What is the best CD you have purchased?)Hemos sufrido una pà ©rdida irreparable. (We have suffered an irreparable loss.)Bolivia y Nicaragua han pedido que el Consejo de Seguridad sea convocado de urgencia. (Bolivia and Nicaragua have asked that the Security Council be convened in emergency session.)Hace una hora ha nacido mi sobrina. (An hour ago, my niece was born. In some regions, the preterite would be preferred: Hace una hora nacià ³ mi sobrina.)Hoy he visto algo raro. (Today I saw something unusual.) Past Perfect Also known as the pluperfect, the past perfect tense is formed by using the imperfect form of haber followed by the past participle. Its uses generally coincide with the past perfect of English, formed by using had and the past participle. The distinction in meaning with the present perfect is that in the pluperfect the verbs action is completed and clearly distinct from the present. Yo habà ­a entendido los conceptos del curso, pero no los habà ­a aplicado. (I had understood the concepts of the course, but I had not applied them.)A medio kilà ³metro de distancia se encontraron otros cuatro cuerpos masculinos, que hasta el momento no habà ­an sido identificados. (A half kilometer away four other male bodies were found, which until that moment had not been identified.)Habà ­amos luchado durante tres aà ±os defendiendo la Repà ºblica. (We had fought for three years defending the Republic.)Mi padre habà ­a tenido una vida dura, pero llena de triunfos. (My father had had a hard life, but one full of triumphs.) Preterite Perfect The preterite perfect, sometimes known as the pretà ©rito anterior, is rarely used today except for literary effect; you are unlikely to hear it in everyday speech. It most often follows a time expression (such as cuando or despuà ©s que) and is formed by using the preterite of haber followed by past participle. It is usually translated to English the same way as the past perfect. Cuando el nià ±o se hubo dormido, el cura me pidià ³ permiso para dejarme. (When the boy had fallen asleep, the priest asked me for permission to leave me.)Tan pronto hubo escuchado aquellas palabras, salià ³ corriendo hacia la plaza. (As soon as he had heard those words, he left running toward the plaza.) Preterite Progressive The preterite progressive or preterite continuous is formed by using the preterite form of estar before the gerund. It is the equivalent of the was/were verb -ing construction in English but is used much less frequently. The Spanish preterite progressive often suggests that an action takes place or is repeated over an extended period of time. Este fin de semana pasado estuve andando por las calles de Oslo. (This past weekend I was walking through the streets of Oslo.)Estuve leyendo todos sus mensajes.  (I was reading all your messages.)Estuvimos muriendo de frà ­o. (We were dying of cold.) Imperfect Progressive The imperfect progressive (or imperfect continuous) is similar in meaning to the preterite progressive and is somewhat more common. It also is usually the equivalent of the was/were verb -ing construction in English. The imperfect progressive often suggests the ongoing nature of an action, while the preterite subjunctive suggests that it had an end. In practice, however, the distinction is a subtle one; all the example sentences with the preterite progressive could have been said in the imperfect progressive with little if any translatable difference in meaning. Un dà ­a antes del examen estuve estudiando con mi amigo. (One day before the test I was studying with my friend.)El actor estaba comiendo saludable como siempre. (The actor was eating healthfully as always.) Past Perfect Progressive Tenses Combine the gerund with the present perfect or pluperfect tense of estar (or of to be in English), and you end up with the past perfect progressive tenses. Their usage in the two languages is similar. Present indicative of haber estado gerund is the equivalent of have/has been gerund and imperfect of haber estado gerund is the equivalent of had been gerund. The present perfect progressive can refer to continuing actions that may be taking place up to the present:  ¿Cà ³mo se sabe si alguien ha estado usando marihuana? (How do you know if someone has been using marijuana?)He estado pensando en ti.  (I have been thinking about you.)Mam y yo hemos estado hablando del futuro.  (Mom and I have been talking about the future.) The pluperfect progressive tense, in contrast, generally refers to continuing actions that are completed (or, if still occurring, are no longer relevant): Andrea habà ­a estado hablando con Pablo todo el dà ­a.  (Andrea had been talking with Pablo all day.)Habà ­amos estado buscando una casa en Madrid. (We had been looking for a house in Madrid.)Habà ­an estado viviendo allà ­ mucho antes de que los espaà ±oles llegaran.  (They had been living there long before the Spaniards arrived.)