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Note that this is a Europe focused lesson. Your active focus is Latin America.
El Pretérito Perfecto in Spanish: experiences
We use El Pretérito Perfecto in Spanish when we are asking or talking about general experiences in life. In these cases the specific time when these events happened is not relevant.
Have a look at the following examples:
We will usually find time phrases that indicate frequency in these cases:
- Nunca (never)
- Siempre (always)
- Alguna vez (ever/at some point)
- Tres veces (three times)
- En mi vida (in my life)
Here are some other examples:
Note that this is a specific way of using El Pretérito Perfecto, and not El Pretérito Indefinido.
¿Alguna vez has montado en globo?
Nunca he montado en globo.
¿Alguna vez montaste en globo?
Yo nunca monté en globo.
If the speaker were interested in mentioning specifically when this event happened, then El Pretérito Indefinido would be used instead:
Yo monté en globo una vez en 2010.
For other uses of El Pretérito Perfecto see also When to use the perfect tense versus the simple past (Perfecto vs Indefinido).
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