Breakdown of Siempre he querido volar, pero no he tenido la oportunidad.
pero
but
no
no, not
tener
to have
siempre
always
querer
to want
la
the (feminine)
haber
(auxiliary) have
la oportunidad
the opportunity
volar
to fly
Questions & Answers about Siempre he querido volar, pero no he tenido la oportunidad.
Why do we use he querido and he tenido instead of just the past tense?
These are examples of the present perfect tense, which connects the past to the present. You form it using the present tense of the helper verb haber (here, he for "I have") plus a past participle like querido (wanted) or tenido (had). It works just like English to say you "have done" or "have wanted" something in your life up to now.
Can I put siempre between the two verbs, like we do in English with "I have always wanted"?
Where exactly does the no go when making this tense negative?
Why is volar in its infinitive form (ending in -ar) here?
When you have two verbs acting together and the first one is conjugated, the second one stays in the infinitive. Here, the conjugated verb phrase is he querido (I have wanted), so the action you want to do, volar (to fly), stays in its basic dictionary form.
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