7 Lesson I have eaten or I ate? When and when not to use the Present Perfect. Ser Socio. Flashcards
You ask someone if they ever ate /have ever eaten squid.
¿Alguna vez has comido calamares? We use the P.Perf. because we are talking about the their lifetime, which is a time frame that they are still in. (Hopefully!jeje)
Someone says that they have spoken/spoke to the boss yesterday
Yo hablé con el jefe ayer. We use the Preterite because we are talking about yesterday, which is over and we are outside of that timeframe.
They say that they have had/had a great result last week.
Nosotros tuvimos un gran resultado la semana pasada. We use the Preterite because last week is over and we are outside of that timeframe.
Someone asks you if you have done/did this week’s job. (It’s Friday.)
¿Has hecho/hiciste el trabajo de esta semana? Here, the more likely is the PP (has hecho) because we are talking about this week and we are still in it. However, the Preterite is also a possibility.
You ask someone what this month has gone/went. It’s the 28th of the month.
¿Cómo ha ido este mes? We use the P.Perf. because we are within the timeframe of this month
Someone says that they have been/were born in the USA.
Yo nací en Los Estados Unidos (EEUU). We use the Preterite because we are talking about a time/moment which is over. (For some of us a very long time ago;)
You ask a businessman how his life has been/was. (Usted)
¿Cómo ha sido su vida? We use the P.Perf. because his life isn’t over. By using the Preterite we would be killing him off!
It’s very late and someone asks you how your day has been/was.
¿Cómo fue tu día? We would likely use the Preterite because the day is over and we are in the night-time. It is possible to use the P.Perf. if we assume that the day isn’t over until we go to bed. However, it’s not as common.
You want to ask someone if they have finished/finished yet.
¿Ya has terminado? We will typically use the P.Perf. because we are in the process or toward the very end of the process. Very typically, these kind of ‘yet’ questions are used with the P.Perf.
He tells her that has been/was ill on Monday.
Yo estuve enfermo el lunes. We have to use the Preterite because we are outside of the timeframe that we are talking about. It’s over.
She had already told me.
Ella ya me lo había dicho. Did you remember that with Decir we have to add an ‘it/lo’?
They will have arrived by ten.
Ellos habrán llegado para las diez.
What did she tell you?
¿Qué te dijo (ella)?
I would have called you earlier but something happened.
Te habría llamado antes pero ocurrió/pasó algo.
Where did they put all of that information that I gave you yesterday?
¿Dónde pusieron toda esa información que te di ayer?
