The past participle is one of the easiest forms in Spanish to build. For the vast majority of verbs, the rule is two lines long: -ar verbs swap the infinitive ending for -ado, and -er / -ir verbs swap it for -ido. The participle is the partner of haber in every compound tense (he hablado, había comido, habré vivido), and it also moonlights as an adjective with ser and estar (la puerta está abierta).
This page covers the regular formation, the small set of vowel-stem verbs that need a written accent, and the colloquial peninsular pronunciation pattern (estoy cansao) that you'll hear constantly in Spain but should never write.
The rule
-ar verbs → -ado (drop -ar, add -ado) -er verbs → -ido (drop -er, add -ido) -ir verbs → -ido (drop -ir, add -ido)
That's the entire regular rule. The participle for an -er verb and an -ir verb is identical in shape — both end in -ido. The participle is invariable when used with haber (always -o) and agrees in gender and number when used as an adjective.
| Infinitive | Type | Participle | Example with haber |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablar | -ar | hablado | he hablado — I have spoken |
| trabajar | -ar | trabajado | has trabajado — you have worked |
| estudiar | -ar | estudiado | ha estudiado — he/she has studied |
| cantar | -ar | cantado | hemos cantado — we have sung |
| comprar | -ar | comprado | habéis comprado — you (pl.) have bought |
| llegar | -ar | llegado | han llegado — they have arrived |
| comer | -er | comido | he comido — I have eaten |
| beber | -er | bebido | has bebido — you have drunk |
| aprender | -er | aprendido | ha aprendido — has learned |
| vivir | -ir | vivido | he vivido — I have lived |
| recibir | -ir | recibido | has recibido — you have received |
| salir | -ir | salido | ha salido — has gone out |
| sentir | -ir | sentido | he sentido — I have felt |
| dormir | -ir | dormido | hemos dormido — we have slept |
He trabajado doce horas hoy y no he comido nada todavía.
I've worked twelve hours today and I haven't eaten anything yet.
¿Habéis estudiado para el examen o vamos a suspender todos?
Have you (all) studied for the exam or are we all going to fail?
Mis padres han vivido en el mismo piso desde hace cuarenta años.
My parents have lived in the same flat for forty years.
Note the absolute regularity: -ar always gives -ado, -er and -ir always give -ido. There are no stem changes, no spelling traps. A verb like jugar (irregular in the present: juego, juegas, juega) is perfectly regular in the participle: jugado. The verbs contar, poder, querer, pedir, sentir — all stem-changing in other tenses — have completely regular participles: contado, podido, querido, pedido, sentido.
The vowel-stem accent rule: leído, oído, traído, reído
A small set of -er and -ir verbs whose stem ends in a vowel need a written accent on the i of the -ido ending. The accent is grammatical, not optional: it marks the hiatus between two vowels that would otherwise form a diphthong.
| Infinitive | Participle | Why the accent |
|---|---|---|
| leer | leído | stem ends in -e; without the accent, ei would read as a diphthong |
| creer | creído | same: cre + ido, hiatus needs marking |
| caer | caído | stem a + ido |
| traer | traído | stem a + ido |
| oír | oído | stem o + ido |
| reír | reído | stem e + ido |
| sonreír | sonreído | same family as reír |
| poseer | poseído | stem e + ido |
| roer | roído | stem o + ido |
Without the accent, the spelling leido would be read with stress on lei- as a diphthong, which is wrong: the actual pronunciation is le-í-do, three syllables, stress on the í. The accent forces the reader to break the would-be diphthong.
He leído tres libros este verano, todos del mismo autor.
I've read three books this summer, all by the same author.
¿Has oído lo que ha pasado en la oficina?
Have you heard what's happened at the office?
Me he caído por las escaleras y me he hecho daño en el tobillo.
I fell down the stairs and hurt my ankle.
Nunca me había reído tanto como anoche con Pablo.
I'd never laughed so much as I did last night with Pablo.
If you write leido or oido without the accent, you are making a spelling error — the same kind as writing cancion instead of canción. The mark is not decoration; it changes how the word is read.
The colloquial peninsular pronunciation: -ado → -ao
In casual peninsular speech, the -d- of -ado is regularly dropped: cansado sounds like cansao, comprado like comprao, terminado like terminao. This is one of the most recognisable features of everyday Spain Spanish — you'll hear it constantly from Madrid through Andalusia and beyond.
Estoy cansadísimo, he trabajado todo el día.
I'm so tired, I've worked all day.
In speech this often comes out as estoy cansao (with the -d- lightened to almost nothing) and he trabajao todo el día in more relaxed registers.
The phenomenon affects only the -ado ending — never -ido (comido never becomes comio). It's strongest in adjectival uses (estoy cansao, estoy enfadao) and slightly softer in compound-tense uses with haber (he comprado), where the -d- is more often preserved.
What matters for learners is this: never write it that way. The colloquial -ao pronunciation is not standard written Spanish. In writing, in formal speech, in any test or exam, the form is always -ado with the -d-. Hearing cansao and writing cansao is the kind of error that immediately marks a learner as having internalised informal speech without internalising the spelling.
He comprado el regalo en una tienda nueva del centro.
I bought the present at a new shop in the centre of town.
Ya hemos terminado el proyecto, por fin.
We've finally finished the project.
In conversation those two sentences would often sound like he comprao el regalo and ya hemos terminao. In writing, only comprado and terminado are correct.
Stem-changing verbs: regular in the participle
A common worry from learners is whether stem-changing verbs need a stem change in the participle. They don't. The participle is built from the infinitive, not from the present-tense stem. Poder (present: puedo, puedes, puede) gives the participle podido (not ⁕puedido). Sentir (present: siento, sientes, siente) gives sentido (not ⁕sintido). Dormir (present: duermo) gives dormido. Pedir (present: pido) gives pedido.
No he podido contestar a tu mensaje, lo siento muchísimo.
I haven't been able to reply to your message, I'm really sorry.
¿Has dormido bien? Tienes mala cara.
Did you sleep well? You look rough.
Te he pedido el favor cinco veces ya, ¿lo vas a hacer o no?
I've asked you for the favour five times already, are you going to do it or not?
This makes the participle predictable in a way that other tenses aren't. The only verbs whose participle isn't built by the regular -ado / -ido rule are the genuine irregulars (hecho, visto, dicho etc.) on the next page — and those are a closed list of about fifteen verbs.
Reflexive verbs: same participle, pronoun before haber
Reflexive verbs keep the same participle — the reflexive se / me / te / nos / os moves to the front of haber, and the participle stays in its regular form.
Me he levantado a las seis esta mañana, qué horror.
I got up at six this morning, what a horror.
Mi hermano se ha casado el mes pasado en una boda íntima.
My brother got married last month in a small wedding.
¿A qué hora os habéis acostado anoche? Os he oído llegar tardísimo.
What time did you (all) go to bed last night? I heard you come in really late.
Note again: pronoun first (me, se, os), then auxiliary (he, ha, habéis), then participle (levantado, casado, acostado). The participle itself stays in its regular -ado form regardless of the reflexive.
A short narrative — every regular pattern in use
Esta semana he tenido muchísimo trabajo. He empezado a las ocho cada mañana, he comido en la oficina y he salido a las nueve de la noche. Mis compañeros han trabajado igual de duro — todos estamos agotados. He leído tu mensaje esta mañana pero no he podido responderte hasta ahora. Lo siento mucho.
This week I've had a ton of work. I've started at eight every morning, I've eaten at the office and I've left at nine at night. My colleagues have worked just as hard — we're all exhausted. I read your message this morning but I haven't been able to reply until now. I'm really sorry.
Every participle in that paragraph follows the regular rule: tenido, empezado, comido, salido, trabajado, leído (with accent), podido. Three -ar verbs in -ado, four -er/-ir verbs in -ido, and one accent-marked vowel-stem verb. The whole paragraph is in the pretérito perfecto because, in Spain, esta semana and esta mañana pull the action into the perfect.
Common Mistakes
❌ He leido tres libros este verano.
Incorrect — leer needs the written accent: leído
✅ He leído tres libros este verano.
I've read three books this summer.
The accent on leído is grammatical, not stylistic. Without it, the word would be read as a single-syllable diphthong, which is wrong. The same applies to oído, creído, caído, traído, reído.
❌ Estoy cansao y tengo hambre.
Sounds correct in speech, but never write it: spelling is cansado
✅ Estoy cansado y tengo hambre.
I'm tired and I'm hungry.
The colloquial peninsular dropping of -d- in -ado is fine in speech but never in writing. Write cansado, terminado, comprado; pronounce however you like.
❌ He puedido hablar con el médico hoy.
Incorrect — poder has a regular participle, podido, with no stem change
✅ He podido hablar con el médico hoy.
I've been able to speak to the doctor today.
The participle uses the infinitive stem, not the present-tense stem. Poder → podido, not ⁕puedido. Same for sentir → sentido (not ⁕sintido) and dormir → dormido (not ⁕durmido).
❌ Las chicas han llegada muy tarde.
Incorrect — participle with haber is invariable, always -o
✅ Las chicas han llegado muy tarde.
The girls have arrived very late.
When the participle partners with haber, it stays at -o regardless of subject gender or number. Only when the participle is used as an adjective (with ser or estar, or modifying a noun) does it agree.
❌ He oido un ruido raro en el jardín.
Incorrect — oír needs the accent: oído
✅ He oído un ruido raro en el jardín.
I heard a strange noise in the garden.
Oír is the trickiest of the accent-marked participles because the infinitive itself already has an accent (on the í). The participle oído keeps that accent. Don't drop it.
Key takeaways
- The regular rule is two lines: -ar → -ado, -er / -ir → -ido. Stem-changing verbs are regular in the participle.
- A small set of vowel-stem -er / -ir verbs need a written accent: leído, creído, caído, traído, oído, reído, sonreído, poseído.
- In peninsular speech, -ado often drops its -d-: cansao, comprao, terminao. Hear it as natural; never write it.
- The participle with haber is invariable — it always ends in -o. The agreeing form is for adjective use only.
- For the small list of irregular participles (hecho, visto, dicho, escrito, etc.) see verbs/present-perfect/irregular-participles.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Pretérito perfecto: formaciónA2 — How Spanish builds the present perfect: haber in the present indicative plus the past participle, with the peninsular vosotros form habéis at the centre and the construction rules that govern pronoun placement and adverb position.
- Participios irregularesA2 — The fifteen-or-so irregular past participles every Spanish learner has to memorise — hecho, dicho, visto, puesto, escrito, abierto, roto, vuelto, muerto and the rest — plus the small set of verbs with two valid forms (frito/freído, impreso/imprimido).
- Participio pasado como adjetivoA2 — When the past participle stops behaving like a verb and starts behaving like an adjective: it agrees in gender and number, lives happily with estar, and describes resultant states. The single rule that separates fluent Spanish from fossilised English-style mistakes.
- Haber como auxiliar de los tiempos compuestosA2 — How haber + past participle builds every compound tense in Spanish, and why the construction is far more frequent in peninsular Spanish than in Latin America.
- Las tres conjugaciones: -ar, -er, -irA1 — The three Spanish conjugation classes side by side — endings, relative frequency, and where -er and -ir actually diverge.