¡Hola, amigos! Did you know that in English grammar, there’s something called a “compound tense”? It’s when we use the verb “to have” as a helping verb to create a verb tense. For example: “I have eaten,” “You had played soccer,” or “They will have visited Colombia.”
Well, in Spanish, we have something very similar! However, Spanish grammarians have given these tenses all kinds of unusual names. I, your buddy Teacher Martincho, have decided to simplify them with straightforward names so you can learn them easily. Just remember: if you ever take a test on Spanish grammar, you will need to use the traditional names! So, let’s get started!
In Spanish, a compound tense is formed by combining “haber” (to have) with the past participle of the main verb. With this construction, we can express completed or ongoing actions and states in great detail.
Compound tenses provide a new level of nuance and specificity compared to simple tenses (“I eat”, “You study” or “They visited Bolivia”). There are some really cool compound tenses in Spanish that are widely used, such as:
INDICATIVE MOOD:
Compound Past (Pasado Compuesto): “Yo había hablado” (I had spoken)
Compound Present (Presente Compuesto): “Yo he hablado” (I have spoken)
Compound Future (Futuro Compuesto): “Yo habré hablado” (I will have spoken) COMING SOON!
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD:
Compound Present (Presente Compuesto): “Yo haya hablado” (I have spoken) COMING SOON!
Compound Past (Pasado Compuesto): “Yo hubiera hablado” (I had spoken) COMING SOON!
CONDITIONAL MOOD:
Compound Present (Presente Compuesto): “Yo habría hablado” (I would have spoken) COMING SOON!
