At this point, you have learned a lot about the past tense in Spanish. But to be able to brag about how much you’ve learned, you’ll need the present perfect tense! This tense refers to an action that was completed not long before the present moment and still has some relevance to the present time. Consider the difference between these statements:

• “I learned Spanish as a child.” The speaker may still speak Spanish, or may have forgotten everything.
• “I have learned a lot of Spanish this year.” The speaker is reflecting on learning that is still relevant to the present moment.

Click here to learn more about the advanced verb tenses in English.