Today we’ll have a look at the differences in the use of two past tenses. When do we use the Preterite tense and when the Perfect? So, Preterite vs Perfect. Let´s see.
Immediate – Distant Past
The first difference is whether we are talking about immediate past or distant past. In the former case Perfect is used. In the latter case we use the Preterite.
One thing worth mentioning here is that Perfect is used even if we specify the time in some way. Have a look at the two examples below. Each of them begins with an expression hace + period of time. This corresponds to the English expressions with ago, for example:
hace dos días – two days ago
hace tres horas – three hours ago
hace quince años – fifteen years ago
and so on. Anyway, in English we use the Past Simple tense if any of such expressions is used. In Spanish we may use these expressions with Perfect if they refer to a short period of time, like a few seconds or minutes ago, a moment ago, etc.
If there is such an expression in Spanish, it can usually be easily replaced by just in English, like in the first example: hace un rato literally means a while ago. Have a look:
| Perfect | |
| immediate past | |
| Hace un rato hemos visto a María. | We just saw María. |
| Preterite | |
| distant past | |
| Hace una semana vimos a María. | We saw María a week ago. |
Finished – Not Yet Finished Period of Time
Now, if we refer to a period of time that is not yet finished like today, this month, this year, etc., we use Perfect. On the other hand, if the time we refer to is finished now, like yesterday, last week, five years ago, etc., we use the Preterite. It works pretty much the same as in English:
| Perfect | |
| period not yet finished | |
| Hoy hemos ido a la playa. | We have been (gone) to the beach today. |
| Preterite | |
| period already finished | |
| Ayer fuimos a la playa. | We went to the beach yesterday. |
Specified – Not Specified Past
One more difference: if the time is not specified, we usually use Perfect. If it is specified, we use the Preterite.
| Perfect | |
| past not specified | |
| He visto la película. | I have seen this movie. |
| Preterite | |
| past specified | |
| Vi la película la semana pasada. | I saw this movie last week. |
One more remark. Remember that there is no one-to-one correspondence between Spanish and English tenses, so it may happen that we use Perfect in Spanish where Past Simple is used in English. This way you may come across translations like these:
ella ha dicho… – she said…
la he visto – I saw her
and so on. It all depends on the context. Anyway, try to keep to the general guidelines presented above, just keep in mind that situations like this are not impossible.