Instruction: Past Preterite Perfect – Regular

2. Forming the Past Participle

To form the past participle for regular verbs:

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

• Hablar → hablado (spoken)

• For -er and -ir verbs: Add -ido to the stem.

• Comer → comido (eaten)
• Vivir → vivido (lived)

3. Using the Past Preterite Perfect Tense

The past preterite perfect tense is not as common in daily conversation. It is used in formal writing or storytelling to emphasize that one action had been completed just before another action occurred in the past. It is often found in literature, historical writing, and other formal contexts.

Examples:

• Cuando él hubo terminado de hablar, todos se levantaron.
  (When he had finished speaking, everyone stood up.)

• Después de que nosotros hubimos comido, salimos a dar un paseo.
  (After we had eaten, we went for a walk.)

• Tan pronto como ellos hubieron llegado, empezó a llover.
  (As soon as they had arrived, it started to rain.)

4. Practice Exercise

Complete the following sentences using the correct form of haber and the past participle of the verb in parentheses:

1. Cuando tú __________ (hablar) con el jefe, él se fue.
2. Después de que ellos __________ (comer), comenzaron a trabajar.
3. Tan pronto como nosotros __________ (llegar), la reunión comenzó.
4. Cuando yo __________ (terminar) el libro, lo devolví a la biblioteca.
5. Después de que ustedes __________ (salir), la fiesta se acabó.

Answers:

1. Cuando tú hubiste hablado con el jefe, él se fue. (When you had spoken with the boss, he left.)
2. Después de que ellos hubieron comido, comenzaron a trabajar. (After they had eaten, they began to work.)
3. Tan pronto como nosotros hubimos llegado, la reunión comenzó. (As soon as we had arrived, the meeting started.)
4. Cuando yo hube terminado el libro, lo devolví a la biblioteca. (When I had finished the book, I returned it to the library.)
5. Después de que ustedes hubieron salido, la fiesta se acabó. (After you all had left, the party ended.)

Conclusion

The past preterite perfect tense, though less common in everyday conversation, is an important tense for formal and literary Spanish. It allows you to express that one action was completed just before another in the past. By mastering the conjugation of haber in the preterite tense and forming regular past participles, you can accurately use this tense to add depth and formality to your Spanish communication. Keep practicing these forms to become confident in using the past preterite perfect tense!