When to use the PERFECT and PRETERITE tenses in Spanish

[@johnR5964]

Acabo de terminar de ver vuestro video y fue perfecto.

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

¡Muchas gracias, John!

[@rolandstewart4057]

Great video. Now understand the tense clearly. Please do videos on Past perfect / pluperfect and Subjunctive tense. ❤

[@margsnider-mcgrath1030]

Me gustó este video que explica cómo usar el perfecto y el pretérito. Para mí, decidir la forma de los verbos es una desafío.Gracias por su ayuda.

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

¡Gracias a ti!

[@janetbutler6414]

Me ha gustado vuestra lección sobre este punto de gramática. Acabo de ver el vídeo y ya tengo ganas de ver más lecciones vuestras. ¡Bien hecho y gracias!

[@dominicmarro247]

Me he gustado este video. Fue muy dificil aprendir perfecto antes del preterito. Gracias.

[@delenegillen539]

These are excellent. Thank you!

[@isabellarockup]

Me ha gustado este vídeo 😆 También me gustó..

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

¡Muy bien, Isabella!

[@Yasmeen_The_Copywriter]

This is very helpful ♡

[@craigdriskell5793]

Soy nuevo en tus videos, pero son perfectos!

[@juiagaskar4164]

Does it become wrong if I interchange the tenses then? Like you said it differs from place to place. If Im a translator then how do I go about it?

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

¡Hola! It wouldn't be considered 'wrong' - for example, if you used the perfect tense in an area of the Spanish-speaking world in a situation where it's more common to use the preterite tense, people would still understand you perfectly and might just assume that you learnt your Spanish in another region or country. Hope this helps 😊

[@juiagaskar4164]

@@coffeebreaklanguages great but if I am being paid to translate then does it create problems?

[@charlescook7388]

Yo he disfrutado este video!

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

¡Muy bien! Gracias 😊

[@mjperfume1523]

I need to know the different uses of usar, ive am so confused about this word Gracias

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

¡Muchas gracias por el comentario y la pregunta! Usar mainly means to use, so for example: They use the computer to do their homework - Usan el ordenador para hacer los deberes. But it could be translated as to wear too, as in: Can I wear your shoes? - ¿Puedo usar tus zapatos? Hope this helps 😊

[@mjperfume1523]

@@coffeebreaklanguages I keep getting mixed up with the different tenses! Thanks for the help though!👍

[@ILOVEALLAHHHHH]

Does the perfect tense starts with esta usually?

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

Hi there, the structure este/esta + time (noun) usually triggers the perfect tense. Examples of this structure are: esta tarde, este año, este mes, esta primavera. All of these are time expressions which include este, esta, estos, estas, so they may trigger the perfect tense in Spanish. Hope this helps!

[@marlenagal44]

acabo de escuchar su lecciónn

[@Eric-eg8hw]

Enjoyed

[@ajscott9528]

Me parece que es bueno saber ambos pero ambos tienen sentido

[@williamconnelly5454]

Hoy is part of the present. Is it "hemos comido hoy" or "hablamos hoy"?

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

¡Hola, William! Thank you for your question. - "Hemos comido hoy" means "we've eaten today". You could say 'comimos hoy', using the preterite, if it was a completed action with no relation to the present. - "Hablamos hoy" could either mean "we speak today" or "we spoke today" (because the 'nosotros' conjugation for hablar is the same in the present tense and the preterite tense). If you said "hemos hablado hoy", this would translate as "we've spoken today", which would mean there's more of a connection with the present. Hope this helps!

[@martintheoldfellwalker]

Hace ocho años yo caminé el camino De Santiago

[@bernardolag]

Bonjour de Miami

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

¡Hola!

[@quranreader7616]

😊😊

[@juliekrolak1450]

I don't get it. So there is no difference. You can use either one.

[@coffeebreaklanguages]

Hello Julie! As we say in the video, although these two past tenses are sometimes used in similar situations, the perfect tense tends to be used when there is more of a clear connection with the present e.g. 'I've eaten today,' rather than 'I ate today'. Hope this helps!