⇒ A past participle (participio) is a very useful verb form that can function as an adjective or as part of a perfect tense when used in conjunction with the verb haber
⇒ o form the past participle of a regular verb, you drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add -ado to the stem of -ar verbs and -ido to the stem of -er and -ir verbs.
⇒ This is equivalent to adding -ed to many verbs in English.
| Verb Type | Infinitive Example | Stem Example | Past Participle Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ar verb | hablar | habl- | hablado |
| -er verbs | tener | ten- | tenido |
| -ir verbs | vivir | viv- | vivido |
⇒ Quite a few Spanish verbs have irregular past participles.
⇒ In the table below you'll find a few of the most common ones.
⇒ For a more exhaustive list of irregular past participles, click here.
| Infinitive | Past Participle | English |
|---|---|---|
| abrir | abierto | open/opened |
| decir | dicho | said |
| escribir | escrito | written |
| hacer | hecho | done/completed |
| ver | visto | seen |
⇒ There are quite a few perfect tenses in Spanish, and they all use past participles.
⇒ Many of the perfect tenses use a version of the following formula:
| Perfect Formulahaber + past participle |
⇒ The examples below show a past participle being used in the present perfect and the future perfect.
| ¿Has viajado mucho a Uruguay?Have you traveled a lot to Uruguay? |
| Habré leído todos sus libros.I will have read all of his books. |
⇒ Check out our articles on these Spanish perfect tenses:
⇒ Past participles are commonly used as adjectives in Spanish.
⇒ When this is the case, they must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify.
⇒ The following examples show past participles being used as adjectives.
| Me encantan los huevos revueltos.I love scrambled eggs. |
| Salimos por la puerta abierta.We left through the open door. |
Predicative Adjective:
⇒ Predicative adjectives are adjectives used in conjunction with a linking verb, such as ser (to be), estar (to be) , or parecer (to seem).
⇒ Predicative adjectives must also agree with the nouns they modify in gender and number.
| Mi novela favorita fue escrita por Gabriel García Márquez.My favorite novel was written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. |
| Las puertas están cerradas.The doors are closed. |
| Esta manzana parece podrida.This apple seems rotten. |