Breakdown of El testigo ha declarado hoy en el juicio.
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
hoy
today
haber
to have (auxiliary)
el juicio
the trial
el testigo
the witness
declarar
to testify; to declare, to state (publicly, at customs)
Questions & Answers about El testigo ha declarado hoy en el juicio.
Why is it declarado and not an irregular participle ending in -cho like in this lesson?
The verb declarar (to testify/declare) is completely regular. To form its past participle, you just drop the -ar and add -ado, giving you declarado. You only use the irregular -cho endings you are learning about now for specific verbs like hacer (hecho) or decir (dicho).
Why are we using ha declarado (has testified) instead of the simple past tense?
In Spain, you use this tense (the present perfect) for past actions that happened in an unfinished time period. The word hoy (today) is the big clue here! Because today is not over yet, we use ha declarado instead of the simple past (declaró).
If the witness were a woman, would it be la testiga?
Does declarado always mean testified?
It literally translates to declared, but in a legal setting like en el juicio (in the trial), testified is the most natural English translation.
Learn El testigo ha declarado hoy en el juicio and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free