Spanish Future Perfect
Spanish Future Perfect Reflexive
Brain Boost: Spanish Future Perfect and Previous Tenses

Review: Spanish Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and Future Perfect

This review lesson covers the three perfect tenses in Spanish: the present perfect, past perfect (pluperfect), and future perfect. These tenses allow you to describe actions that are completed in relation to the present, past, or future. Mastering these tenses is essential for expressing when an action has been, had been, or will have been completed.

1. Present Perfect

Usage: The present perfect tense is used to describe actions that have been completed at the time of speaking or at an unspecified time in the past. It combines the present tense of haber with the past participle of the main verb.

Conjugation of Haber (Present Tense):

Yo

he

I have

Nosotros

hemos

we have

(Juana, Juan)

has

you have

Vosotros

(informal Spain)

habéis

you all have

Él/Ella/Ud.

(Sra./Dr. García)

ha

he/she/you have

Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

han

they/you all have

Examples:

  • Yo he hablado con Juan.
    (I have spoken with Juan.)
  • Ellos han comido en ese restaurante antes.
    (They have eaten at that restaurant before.)

2. Past Perfect (Pluperfect)

Usage: The past perfect tense is used to describe actions that had been completed before another action in the past. It combines the imperfect tense of haber with the past participle of the main verb.

Conjugation of Haber (Imperfect Tense):

Yo

había

I had

Nosotros

habíamos

we had

(Juana, Juan)

habías

you had

Vosotros

(informal Spain)

habíais

you all had

Él/Ella/Ud.

(Sra./Dr. García)

había

he/she/you had

Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

habían

they/you all

Examples:

  • Yo había terminado el informe antes de la reunión.
    (I had finished the report before the meeting.)
  • Nosotros habíamos vivido en esa casa por cinco años.
    (We had lived in that house for five years.)

3. Future Perfect

Usage: The future perfect tense is used to describe actions that will have been completed by a specific point in the future. It combines the future tense of haber with the past participle of the main verb.

Conjugation of Haber (Future Tense):

Yo

habré

I will have

Nosotros

habremos

we will have

(Juana, Juan)

habrás

you will have

Vosotros

(informal Spain)

habréis

you all will have

Él/Ella/Ud.

(Sra./Dr. García)

habrá

he/she/you will have

Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

habrán

they/you all will have

Examples:

  • Yo habré terminado mi tarea para las ocho.
    (I will have finished my homework by eight.)
  • Ellos habrán llegado antes de la fiesta.
    (They will have arrived before the party.)

4. Forming the Past Participle

All three perfect tenses require the past participle of the main verb. To form the past participle:

  • For -ar verbs: Add -ado to the stem.

    • Hablarhablado (spoken)
  • For -er and -ir verbs: Add -ido to the stem.

    • Comercomido (eaten)
    • Vivirvivido (lived)

Examples:

  • Hablarhablado (spoken)
  • Comercomido (eaten)
  • Vivirvivido (lived)

5. Common Irregular Past Participles

Some verbs have irregular past participles that need to be memorized. These irregular past participles are used with all three perfect tenses.

Examples:

InfinitivePast ParticipleEnglish Equivalent
abrir (to open)abiertoopened
decir (to say)dichosaid
escribir (to write)escritowritten
hacer (to do/make)hechodone/made
morir (to die)muertodied
poner (to put)puestoput/placed
resolver (to resolve)resueltoresolved
romper (to break)rotobroken
ver (to see)vistoseen
volver (to return)vueltoreturned

6. Practice Exercise

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of haber and the past participle of the verb in parentheses. Choose the appropriate tense (present perfect, past perfect, or future perfect) based on the context provided:

  1. Yo __________ (ver) esa película.
  2. Nosotros __________ (escribir) el informe antes de la reunión ayer.
  3. Ellos __________ (comer) antes de que lleguemos mañana.
  4. Tú __________ (hacer) la tarea cuando te llamé.
  5. Ustedes __________ (decir) todo antes de que la clase empiece en una hora.
  6. Ella __________ (volver) a casa antes de las ocho.
  7. Nosotros __________ (abrir) las ventanas cuando empezó a llover.
  8. Yo __________ (leer) el libro para el lunes.
  9. Ellos __________ (romper) el vaso antes de la fiesta anoche.
  10. Tú __________ (escribir) una carta para cuando te llamen luego.

Answers:

  1. Yo he visto esa película. (I have seen that movie.) (Present Perfect)
  2. Nosotros habíamos escrito el informe antes de la reunión ayer. (We had written the report before the meeting yesterday.) (Past Perfect)
  3. Ellos habrán comido antes de que lleguemos mañana. (They will have eaten before we arrive tomorrow.) (Future Perfect)
  4. Tú habías hecho la tarea cuando te llamé. (You had done the homework when I called you.) (Past Perfect)
  5. Ustedes habrán dicho todo antes de que la clase empiece en una hora. (You all will have said everything before the class starts in an hour.) (Future Perfect)
  6. Ella habrá vuelto a casa antes de las ocho. (She will have returned home before eight.) (Future Perfect)
  7. Nosotros habíamos abierto las ventanas cuando empezó a llover. (We had opened the windows when it started to rain.) (Past Perfect)
  8. Yo habré leído el libro para el lunes. (I will have read the book by Monday.) (Future Perfect)
  9. Ellos habían roto el vaso antes de la fiesta anoche. (They had broken the glass before the party last night.) (Past Perfect)
  10. Tú habrás escrito una carta para cuando te llamen luego. (You will have written a letter by the time they call you later.) (Future Perfect)
Conclusion

Understanding the distinctions between the present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses is helpful for accurately expressing when actions have been, had been, or will have been completed. By mastering the conjugations of haber and practicing with regular and irregular past participles, you’ll gain fluency in using these helpful tenses in Spanish. Keep practicing to solidify your understanding and improve your ability to communicate clearly in Spanish!