Breakdown of Sí, el cirujano ya ha explicado la operación.
sí
yes
explicar
to explain
haber
to have (auxiliary)
ya
already
la operación
the operation
el cirujano
the surgeon
Questions & Answers about Sí, el cirujano ya ha explicado la operación.
Can I put ya between ha and explicado, like we do in English with 'has already explained'?
No, in Spanish you can never separate the two parts of the Pretérito Perfecto. The helping verb (ha) and the past participle (explicado) must always stay strictly together. Ya usually goes right before the whole verb phrase.
Why do we use the Pretérito Perfecto (ha explicado) here instead of the simple past?
La operación is feminine. Why does the verb end in -o (explicado) and not -a (explicada)?
When forming the Pretérito Perfecto with the helping verb haber, the past participle always ends in -o. It never changes its ending to match the object (la operación) or the subject (el cirujano).
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