How To Learn The Perfect Subjunctive in Spanish

Today we will turn our attention to how to learn the perfect subjunctive in Spanish. The perfect subjunctive is a tense that is used to speak about situations in the past, but with a point of view in the present. This is another topic of Spanish that students of the language often find very challenging. If you understand the Present Subjunctive, learning how to conjugate the Perfect Subjunctive will be a piece of cake. We could say that we use the Perfect Subjunctive with the same rules as the Present Subjunctive, with the principal verb in present, but with the situation being in the past.

The conjugation for Present Subjunctive is as follows: "Haber" + Past Participle

Yo Haya
Tu Hayas
Usted/El/Ella Haya + CantADO/ComIDO/BebIDO
Nosotros-as Hayamos
Ustedes/Ellos-as Hayan

For example, we can use it with wishes. Imagine that last week was the wedding of one of your best friends and you couldn't go. You are speaking with your roommate today and you say: "Ojala que haya tenido una Buena fiesta" (I hope he had a good party.), "Espero que haya recibido muchos regalos"( I hope he received many gifts.)

We can use this tense with doubts and probabilities: "Probablemente haya habido mucha comida en la fiesta" (There was probably a lot of food at the party.), "Puede ser que Jose se haya emborrachado en la fiesta"(Joseph may have been drunk at the party).

We can use it with opinions in negative: "No creo que hayan preparado un video para pasar en la fiesta" (I don't think they have prepared a video to show the party), "No pienso que Martin se haya afeitado para la boda, el es muy informal" (I don't think that Martin shaved for the wedding, he is very informal.).

We can express emotions too (remember: you need 2 subjects in the idea): "Me encanta que Marcelo se haya casado con Mariana" (I love that Marcelo got married to Mariana.), "Me molesta que no me haya dicho que le gustaria como regalo" (It bothers me that he did not say what he would like as a gift.).

And finally you can use it with impersonal opinions: "Es increible que hayan pasado 10 anos desde que se conocieron" (It's amazing that 10 years have passed since they met.), "Es bueno que hayan decidido ir a Grecia de Luna de Miel" (It is good that they decided to go to Greece for their Honeymoon.)

I recommend that you practice the topic of the perfect subjunctive using your Verbarrator (Spanish Verb Conjugation software) until you know this topic as well you know or should know the present perfect subjunctive. If you do not already own a copy of the Verbarrator software, you can download a free demo from the Verbarrator site.

Although the Perfect Subjunctive can be tricky, if you practice it enough, you will get the hang of it! Good luck or "buena suerte."

Anna Rivera is a native Spanish speaker from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is also a Spanish instructor and the author of 2 learning Spanish books. If you would like to get FREE instant download access to the MP3 audio and PDF transcripts to her Spanish lessons absolutely free AND read her reviews of the most popular learning-Spanish products, then visit her web site now in order to: learn Spanish online That's http://LearningSpanishProductsReviews.com/

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