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Spanish (Spain)

### Finished versus unfinished timeframes

In Spain, choosing between the present perfect (**hemos conseguido**) and the preterite (**conseguimos**) depends on the timeframe of the action.

Use the present perfect for *unfinished* timeframes—meaning we are still in that block of time. Look for markers like **hoy** (today), **esta semana** (this week), or **este año** (this year).

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Use the preterite for *finished* timeframes that are entirely in the past. You'll see this with markers like **ayer** (yesterday), **el mes pasado** (last month), or **el año pasado** (last year).

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### Reviewing business progress

When giving corporate updates, you will frequently switch between these two tenses. Here is how key business verbs shift between finished and unfinished timeframes:

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Present perfect versus preterite

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
to achieve, to get; to manage to (+ infinitive)	conseguir
the objective	el objetivo
This year we have achieved the objective.	Este año hemos conseguido el objetivo.
Last year they did not achieve the objective.	El año pasado no consiguieron el objetivo.
the manager	el gerente
the contract	el contrato
The manager signed the contract yesterday.	El gerente firmó el contrato ayer.
Has the manager signed the contract today?	¿Ha firmado el gerente el contrato hoy?
the department	el departamento
to hire	contratar
This week the department has hired a new employee.	Esta semana el departamento ha contratado a un empleado nuevo.
Last month we hired many people.	El mes pasado contratamos a mucha gente.
the sale	la venta
Sales have improved a lot this month.	Las ventas han mejorado mucho este mes.
to manage	gestionar
My colleague managed the sales yesterday.	Mi compañera gestionó las ventas ayer.
The manager has handled the problem this morning.	La gerente ha gestionado el problema esta mañana.
the strategy	la estrategia
This year the strategy has started to work.	Este año la estrategia ha empezado a funcionar.
Last year the boss changed the strategy.	El año pasado la jefa cambió la estrategia.
to invest	invertir
Today the department has invested in the project.	Hoy el departamento ha invertido en el proyecto.
Yesterday they invested nothing in the company.	Ayer no invirtieron nada en la empresa.
Did you finish reading the contract last week?	¿Terminaste de leer el contrato la semana pasada?
the day before yesterday	anteayer
The day before yesterday we hired two employees.	Anteayer contratamos a dos empleados.
The day before yesterday I went to the bank.	Anteayer fui al banco.
Did you speak with the client the day before yesterday?	¿Hablaste con el cliente anteayer?
The manager called the day before yesterday, not yesterday.	El gerente llamó anteayer, no ayer.

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