A2 · Unit 2 · 40 words, 2 texts with translation
Talk about your day
Say what you've already done today — chores, errands and small mishaps — and what you haven't done yet.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Present perfect: he comprado, he comido
You've bought bread, cleaned the bathroom, missed the bus — and you want to talk about it. For things already done today (this week, this year), Spanish in Spain uses a two-word tense, the present perfect: a form of haber + a past participle. It's built like English "I have bought": he comprado — I've bought.
haber— the helper verb "to have". You know it from hay (there is, there are); here it only builds the tense and isn't translated on its own.
| Person | haber | past participle |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he | comprado |
| tú | has | comprado |
| él / ella / usted | ha | comprado |
| nosotros | hemos | comprado |
| vosotros | habéis | comprado |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | han | comprado |
The past participle comes from the infinitive:
- -ar → -ado: comprar → comprado, limpiar → limpiado;
- -er, -ir → -ido: comer → comido, salir → salido.
The stem doesn't change here: pierdo, but perdido; enciendo, but encendido.
Examples:
- He comprado pan. — I've bought bread.
- ¿Has limpiado el baño? — Have you cleaned the bathroom?
- Ana ha perdido el autobús. — Ana has missed the bus.
- Hemos comido en casa. — We've eaten at home.
- Hoy me he levantado tarde. — I got up late today.
Three traps:
- The participle never changes after haber: Ana ha llegado (✗ ha llegada). Only haber shows who did it.
- Don't drop haber: not ✗ yo comprado, but he comprado.
- Haber and the participle stay together. The words no, me, te, se go before haber: no he comido, me he duchado.
A few common verbs have an irregular participle (for example, hacer → hecho) — they're in the next unit.
Time words: hoy, esta semana, ya, todavía no
You know ya — "already" and todavía — "still" from A1. Now they work together with the present perfect.
This tense is about a past that's still connected to now: the day, the week or the year isn't over yet. That's why a time word usually comes with it. When you see one of these words, use he, has, ha…
| Time word | Example |
|---|---|
| hoy — today | Hoy he trabajado mucho. — I've worked a lot today. |
| esta mañana — this morning | Esta mañana he perdido el autobús. — This morning I missed the bus. |
| esta semana — this week | Esta semana he sacado la basura dos veces. — I've taken out the trash twice this week. |
| este mes, este año — this month, this year | Este año he viajado poco. — I've traveled very little this year. |
English often switches to the simple past for "this morning" ("this morning I missed the bus"). Spanish in Spain keeps he perdido: the day isn't over yet.
Ya and todavía no — a question and two answers:
- ¿Ya has comprado el pan? — Have you bought the bread yet?
- Sí, ya he comprado pan. — Yes, I've already bought bread.
- No, todavía no. — No, not yet.
- Todavía no he lavado la ropa. — I haven't washed the clothes yet.
In questions, ya is usually English "yet"; in answers it's "already". Todavía no is "not yet".
Where they go: before haber — ya he comido, todavía no he comido. Unlike English "I have already eaten", nothing goes between haber and the participle: not ✗ he ya comido. Ya can also go at the end, like English "yet": ¿Has comido ya?
You don't use this tense with "yesterday" or "last year": finished time has another past tense, the preterite, in unit 7.
Words in this unit
dejar — to leave, to let
Dejo las llaves en la mesa. — I leave the keys on the table.
olvidar — to forget
Siempre olvido el cargador en casa. — I always forget my charger at home.
perder — to lose, to miss (a bus or train)
Pierdo las llaves cada semana. — I lose my keys every week.
recordar — to remember, to remind
¿Recuerdas dónde está mi cartera? — Do you remember where my wallet is?
limpiar — to clean
Hoy limpio el baño. — Today I'm cleaning the bathroom.
lavar — to wash
Lavo la ropa en la lavadora. — I wash my clothes in the washing machine.
sacar — to take out, to get out
Saco la basura todas las noches. — I take out the trash every night.
acabar — to finish, to end
La clase acaba a las ocho. — Class ends at eight.
hacer la compra — to do the grocery shopping
Hago la compra los sábados. — I do the grocery shopping on Saturdays.
la basura — trash, garbage
Saco la basura por la noche. — I take out the trash at night.
la tarea — task, chore
Hoy tengo muchas tareas. — I have a lot of tasks today.
la lista — list
Hago una lista de la compra. — I'm making a shopping list.
el error — mistake, error
Hay un error en la cuenta. — There's a mistake on the check.
la cartera — wallet, briefcase
No encuentro mi cartera. — I can't find my wallet.
todavía no — not yet
Todavía no he comido. — I haven't eaten yet.
al final — in the end, eventually
Al final compro el pan yo. — In the end, I'm the one buying the bread.
roto — broken, torn
El móvil está roto. — The phone is broken.
seguro — sure, safe
¿Estás seguro? — Are you sure? (to a man)
romper — to break, to tear
Siempre rompo los vasos. — I'm always breaking glasses.
apagar — to turn off
Apago la luz y salgo de casa. — I turn off the light and leave the house.
encender — to turn on, to light
Enciendo la luz de la cocina. — I turn on the kitchen light.
recoger — to pick up, to tidy up
Recojo la ropa del suelo. — I pick up the clothes off the floor.
ordenar — to tidy, to put in order
Ordeno mi habitación los domingos. — I tidy my room on Sundays.
fregar — to wash (dishes), to mop (a floor)
Friego los platos después de la comida. — I do the dishes after lunch.
caerse — to fall, to fall down
Me caigo de la bici. — I fall off my bike.
menos mal — thank goodness, good thing
Menos mal, ya está aquí. — Thank goodness, he's here already.
de repente — suddenly
De repente se va la luz. — Suddenly the power goes out.
la lavadora — washing machine
Pongo la ropa en la lavadora. — I put the clothes in the washing machine.
el cargador — charger
Necesito un cargador para el móvil. — I need a charger for my phone.
la batería — battery
Mi móvil no tiene batería. — My phone is out of battery.
el suelo — floor, ground
Hay agua en el suelo. — There's water on the floor.
el turno — turn, shift
Hoy es mi turno de fregar. — Today it's my turn to do the dishes.
la culpa — fault, blame
Es culpa mía. — It's my fault.
el desastre — disaster, mess
¡Qué desastre de día! — What a disaster of a day!
el lío — mess, mix-up, trouble
¡Qué lío! — What a mess!
el recado — errand, message
Tengo que hacer unos recados. — I have to run some errands.
el cubo — bucket, trash can
Pongo la basura en el cubo. — I put the trash in the trash can.
el polvo — dust
Hay mucho polvo en los muebles. — There's a lot of dust on the furniture.
despistado — absent-minded, scatterbrained
Soy muy despistado y olvido todo. — I'm very absent-minded and I forget everything (man speaking).
he comido — I've eaten (present perfect)
He comprado pan. — I've bought bread.
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