Coffee Break Spanish - CBS 2.24 | Introducing the perfect tense

Episode Date: October 11, 2010

Lesson 24 introduces a new tense: the perfect tense. This tense is used to talk about what you 'have done' and is very simple to use.Please note that lesson 24 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 224 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners.This season of Coffee Break Spanish features a total of 40 lessons, all of which will be included in the podcast feed. Just stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you’d like to benefit from video versions, lesson notes and bonus audio materials, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break Spanish in the Coffee Break Academy.Don’t forget to follow Coffee Break Spanish on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your Spanish. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break Spanish Facebook page here.If you’d like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.You can also check out our Coffee Break Spanish Twitter page and the Coffee Break Languages YouTube channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Coffee Break Spanish. In Lesson 64, we're putting Por and para behind us and concentrating on another aspect of the language which we need to look at, and that is the perfect tense. We've already learned that the preterate and imperfect are used in the past, but when you're talking about having done something, I have drunk a coffee, for example, then you need to use the perfect tense.

So, in this lesson, we'll look at the formation of the perfect. It's very straightforward. I hope you enjoy the lesson. So, Kara, so far, we have learned two different tenses for talking about the past. What were they? The imperfect and the preterate. That's right, the imperfect and the preterate. The imperfect was used, well, can you remember which situations the imperfect was used in?

When you're saying, was or were doing something? When you used to do something, when you would do something in the past, And also for descriptions like the weather. Yeah, that's exactly right. That's the imperfect. And what about the preterate? When it's a stum, a completed action in the past. That's, yeah, when it's a stum.

Basically any time that it's a completed action in the past, and often the preterate interrupts the imperfect. Now, there was one other tense that we didn't mention at the time, and I didn't mention it for a reason. The reason being, it perhaps would complicate things a little too much, and you can get away with the preterate in many situations. However, there is this other tense to talk about things that you have done or things that you've done recently, for example.

And this is the tense that we're going to be learning today. It's called the perfect tense. And I have to say it's perfectly easy to form. It's used primarily to translate the idea of have done something. We've already looked at was doing in the imperfect, used to do, and would do and the key word here for the perfect tense is have done

so for example I have done my homework that would be an example where the perfect tense is used and in actual fact it's used in English as well I have done something that's the English perfect tense it's sometimes called the present perfect because it tends to involve something that is still related in some way to the

present. You've done something in the past, but it's still related to the present. Let's conjugate it. Let's learn how to form it first, and then we'll talk a little more about how it's used. The first thing that we need for this tense is something called the past participle. Now the past participle is taken from the infinitive of the verb, and you change the infinitive slightly to give you the past participle. Let's take the infinitive, al-lars, one that we take very often when we're looking at verbs. Ablar means... To speak. Exactly. So with Ablar, we're going to take off the A-R at the end and add the ending, A-do. That's A-D-O. So Ablar, the infinitive, becomes ablado. Ablado.

Ablado. And watch that lovely Spanish D in there. Remember, it's quite like the th of the word in English. English the as opposed to a very strong D sound, obviously that varies slightly across the Spanish-speaking world. But if you can see abladdo as opposed to ablado, then you'll probably sound a little more Spanish. Ablado. Ablado. Okay.

So this ablado is called the pass participle. And it works for all A.R. verbs. Cantar to sing becomes cantado. Cantado. Comprar to buy becomes Comprado. Comprado. Baalar to dance

would become Baalado. Baalado. Travajar to work becomes Travajado. Travajado. Very well.

So these are the past participles of AR verbs. You take off the AR and add Ado. Let's think now about ER and IR verbs because again both ER and IR form the past participle in the same way, just as they do in some other tenses. Let's take Comer. Comer means to eat. Of course it does. Comer, you take off the ER and add IDO,

I-D-O, I-D-O. So comer becomes comido. Comedo. Comedo. Okay. And, and Let's take another example, beber. Beber means. To drink? And it becomes... Bebido. Bebido. So, comer, comido, beber, bebido.

Let's take an IAR verb. Let's take Bivir, not to be confused with, Beber. Bivir means... To live. So the past participle of Bivir is Bibido. Bibido. Bibido.

Bibido Very So we've got AR verbs which form their past participle by taking off the AR and adding

ADO ADO Ado Comprado Bailado Travado And then ER and IR verbs

Both of which take off the ER or the IR and add I-D-O as in Bebido Bidio

Comido Comido But what does all this mean? Well, if we think of Comprado, for example. Comprar means to buy. Comprado means bought. Okay?

So if Travachar means to work, Travado could be translated as Worked. Worked, exactly. Bivir means to live, bivido Lived Exactly, and let's do one more Beber to drink,

Bevido drunk, exactly, okay, not drunk as in the adjective sense, but as in what we're going to use to put that together with the To Have Done Something. So we now need to think about the To Have Done Something bit okay the have bought have drunk have eaten and so on this is where perhaps it gets a little more complicated

how do you say i have tango tango yeah that's from the verb tenor which means to have or to possess or whatever but this have as in to have done something is a different verb okay you can't say tango Comprado or anything like that. That's wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Okay, and if anybody's studied Portuguese, then this is going to be a little bit complicated for you. You don't say Tengo plus the past participle. You use a different verb.

And that different verb in Spanish is Aver. And that's spelled H-A-B-E-R. A-ver. A-ver. Okay, we'll be back in just a moment. When you're not listening to Coffee Break Spanish, you can still practice your Spanish with our regular posts on social media. Find us on Facebook, just search for Coffee Break Spanish. We're Learn Spanish on Twitter, and you can keep up with the team through our regular posts on Instagram.

Follow Coffee Break Languages. It's our mission to help you turn your downtime into your due time. Okay, let's get on with the lesson. Do you remember the word I? Yes, from our song about the town, like, I, de ethyno ever restaurantes. That's it, yeah. What does I mean? There is or there are.

Yeah, believe it or not, I comes from the same verb, Aver. But it's an impersonal form, and we're not going to get into that just now. What we do need to do is learn the conjugation of Aver. And it starts with A. A. I have, but not as in I have a sister. is I have as in I have done something. E.

E. As? As? A. A. E as a. E as a. Emos.

Emos. A beiz. A beis. An. Emos, A beiz. Anne. Emos abeis an. Emas a baiz an.

E as a, emos abeis, Anne. E as a, emos a base, am. Nice and. Okay. Now, we're going to now start putting this immediately together with past participles. So let's take, E, Comprado. E Comprado.

I have bought. I have bought, okay. E Comprado, una casa. I have bought a house. He comprado a casa. I have bought a house. As, comprado, one a casa. You have bought a house.

Yeah, ass the usual. the two form. Has Comprado a casa. Has Comprado a casa. Has Comprado a casa.

A Comprado a casa. Miguel has bought a house. Miguel has bought a house.

Mm-hmm. Miguel A Comprado a casa. Miguel Acomprada a casa. Now just

watch that kind of is Acomprado. Acomprado. Okay. Miguel Acomprado. a car. Miguel

has come Prado a casa. Teresa Teresa's feminine. A Comprado a house. Teresa has comeado a house. So it's feminine and masculine

and they both take Comprado. Okay. So Combrado never changes. If you learn French and you're used to pass participables changing all over the place don't worry. You don't need to do this in Spanish. They're all the same. Comprado. no matter who it is, that's done the buying.

So Miguel has compiled a casa. Miguel a combrado a caza. Now let's just go back through this. E-comprado, I have bought. As-comprado, you have bought. A-comprado, he, she or it, has bought. Notice that the comprado doesn't change. It never changes, but it's the part of A-ver that changes.

E-as-a. So let's now think about we have bought. We've bought. We've bought a casa. We've bought a casa. We've bought a casa. We've bought a house. We have bought a house.

Let's look at the Bosotros form, the U plural, informal, that's used in Spain. Have you, Cumprado a casa Aves Cobra de Carta What's the

stress there Aves Abeis Abeis Cobra de A base Cobra de a casa

Yeah, exactly Abeis Cobra de a house And then finally An

Comprado Unacacacac An An Cobra Uncaca Would mean They have

bought a house Yeah They have bought a house or indeed it could also be referring to Osteeds. Usteades Ancomprado in a casa, the polite, the formal U plural form. And

indeed the informal plural form used in most of Latin America. So that's all using Comprar in the perfect tense to have bought. Aver Comprado. He Comprado. Has compared. Acomprado.

We must comprado. Haveiscomprado. Ancomprado. Let's take another of our verbs and see if we can test your knowledge card on this already, okay? Okay. Let's take Travajado. Okay. Okay.

I have worked. E, Travajado. Yeah. She has worked. A Travajado. Yeah, that's right. Remember it's Travado, even if it's she. A Travajado.

And what about we have danced? Hemos Bailado Emos bailado They have sung Ancanado Ancanado You see how easy this tense is

Yeah really easy Okay and let's throw in a couple of ER and IR verbs which of course are going to take the I-do ending So let's think about I have lived E bibido A-bibido, that's it

E-bibido I have lived So how would you say I have lived in Spain? E bibido in Hispania. I think we're getting the idea. Yeah. Okay. So, Kara, I'm going to ask you a question here. And the question is,

Ke has etcho hoy. Now, Echto is what we would call an irregular pass participle. It comes from the verb, Ather, which means... To do or to make. Yeah. So, Ke, What have you done today?

Exactly. Well done. So, Echo is the past participle of Acer. So it means done. What have you done today? So, Kara, what have you done today? I've worked. You've worked? Yes. Much, yes.

Has studied? Yes. Has learned Spanish? Of course that Yes What more? I've I've

I've I've I've eaten eaten for her You've You've Did you

Have you Did you A little You Very Very good And And a

Is a No, It's all That's all That's all Okay Now I

I want I I'm The Okay What has done today?

Well, I've worked and prepared some materials for the

podcast. I have with two kids. I've about

with my mother and he's many things. So what did I

do? Everything? Yeah. I can remember You did lots of things I've played with my

kids You played with your sons I've played with your wife I've worked with your wife I've worked lots And I prepared some materials for the podcast

You prepared materials for the podcast Exactly And well, yeah It's hopefully Has introduced you To the perfect tense and it's this idea of translating, I have done something, I have eaten, I have done my homework and so on. We're going to cover this a little more next time, but in the meantime, we'll leave it there.

And that's where we're going to leave it today for this edition of Coffee Break Spanish. Thanks for joining us, and we hope it's been useful. You can join the Coffee Break Spanish community on Facebook at Facebook.com slash Coffee Break Spanish. and follow at Learn Spanish on Twitter. Much grazie, and hasta pronto. This is the production of the Radiolingua Network. Find out more at radiolingua.com.