The past participle (participio pasado) is one of the most productive forms in Spanish. It appears in every compound tense (he hablado, había comido, habrán llegado), in the passive voice (fue escrito), and as a true adjective that agrees with its noun (la puerta cerrada). Fortunately, building it is straightforward. Most verbs follow one of two regular patterns, and only about a dozen are genuinely irregular.
The Regular Patterns
Drop the infinitive ending and add the matching suffix:
- -ar verbs take -ado
- -er verbs take -ido
- -ir verbs take -ido
| Infinitive | Meaning | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | to speak | hablado |
| trabajar | to work | trabajado |
| estudiar | to study | estudiado |
| comer | to eat | comido |
| beber | to drink | bebido |
| aprender | to learn | aprendido |
| vivir | to live | vivido |
| salir | to go out | salido |
| recibir | to receive | recibido |
He hablado con el profesor sobre el examen.
I have spoken with the professor about the exam.
Accented -ído for Vowel Stems
When the stem of an -er or -ir verb ends in a strong vowel (a, e, o), the i of -ido requires a written accent to keep it as a separate syllable. The result is -ído.
| Infinitive | Meaning | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| leer | to read | leído |
| creer | to believe | creído |
| traer | to bring | traído |
| caer | to fall | caído |
| oír | to hear | oído |
| reír | to laugh | reído |
He leído ese libro tres veces.
I have read that book three times.
The Twelve Common Irregulars
Unlike the gerund, the past participle has a small but essential list of irregulars. Many of them end in -to or -cho instead of -ado or -ido. Memorize these twelve and you will cover virtually every irregular past participle you meet in daily Spanish.
| Infinitive | Meaning | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| abrir | to open | abierto |
| cubrir | to cover | cubierto |
| decir | to say | dicho |
| escribir | to write | escrito |
| freír | to fry | frito |
| hacer | to do / to make | hecho |
| morir | to die | muerto |
| poner | to put | puesto |
| resolver | to resolve | resuelto |
| romper | to break | roto |
| ver | to see | visto |
| volver | to return | vuelto |
He escrito dos cartas esta mañana.
I have written two letters this morning.
¿Has visto la nueva película de Cuarón?
Have you seen Cuarón's new movie?
No hemos hecho la tarea todavía.
We have not done the homework yet.
Compound Irregulars
Many other irregular verbs are simply prefixed versions of the twelve above, and they follow the same pattern. If you know poner → puesto, you automatically know:
| Infinitive | Past participle |
|---|---|
| componer | compuesto |
| descomponer | descompuesto |
| proponer | propuesto |
| describir | descrito |
| descubrir | descubierto |
| devolver | devuelto |
| deshacer | deshecho |
| predecir | predicho |
What Comes Next
Now that you can build the past participle, see how it behaves when it is used as an adjective: Past Participle as Adjective. For its role in compound tenses, visit Regular Past Participles and Irregular Past Participles.
Related Topics
- Past Participle as AdjectiveA2 — Past participles used as adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun and appear with estar for states and ser for the passive voice.
- Regular Past Participles (-ado, -ido)A2 — How to form regular past participles from -ar, -er, and -ir infinitives, including the written-accent rule for vowel stems.
- Irregular Past ParticiplesB1 — The dozen or so common verbs whose past participles do not follow the regular -ado/-ido pattern.