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Video lesson

Pretérito perfecto y pretérito indefinido (nivel intermedio)

Duration: 4:06 Published: 8 Jul 2023

Both tenses talk about past, finished actions, so what is the difference? Pilar explains that the key is the time frame, with clear examples.

En este vídeo os doy algunas explicaciones sobre la diferencia del pretérito Perfecto y el Pretérito Indefinido. Ambos tiempos son pasados y expresan acciones terminadas. Entonces, ¿cuál es la diferencia? La gran diferencia es el contexto temporal

Key points

  • Both tenses express past, finished actions: he comido, has estudiado / comí, estuve, fui.
  • The pretérito perfecto refers to a time frame that is still present: Hoy he estudiado mucho. Esta semana he estudiado mucho.
  • The indefinido refers to a finished time: Durante la universidad estudié mucho. Anoche estudié tres horas seguidas.
  • The perfecto also expresses past actions with effects now (No, gracias, ya he desayunado) and life experience (Nunca he comido calamares).
  • In much of Latin America the perfecto is used less than in Spain.

Frequent doubts

Is hoy comí wrong?

In Latin American Spanish it is completely natural. In Spain hoy he comido is preferred, but both forms are correct.

Which tense goes with nunca and alguna vez?

The perfecto, when they refer to your life up to now: Nunca he estado en Sevilla. ¿Has probado alguna vez el gazpacho?

Is anoche a present or a past time frame?

A finished one: although it is very recent, anoche is over, so it takes the indefinido: Anoche estudié tres horas.

Part of Spanish Sessions, the YouTube channel of the teachers at Tilde Madrid — more than 3 million views.

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