Preterite Perfect
Usage
"El Pretérito Anterior" is a rarely used Spanish tense that describes an action completed immediately before another past action. It's primarily seen in literary texts and is considered formal or archaic in modern Spanish.
En cuanto hubo sonado la campana, todos entraron. (As soon as the bell had rung, everyone entered.)
Conjugation:
"El Pretérito Anterior" is formed by using the preterite tense of the auxiliary verb "haber" followed by the past participle of the main verb.
- Haber in preterite: hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubisteis, hubieron
- Past participle: added to the main verb (-ado for -ar verbs, -ido for -er and -ir verbs)
Fully Conjugated Verbs in "El Pretérito Anterior":
-
Hablar (to speak):
- Yo hube hablado
- Tú hubiste hablado
- Él/Ella/Usted hubo hablado
- Nosotros hubimos hablado
- Vosotros hubisteis hablado
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hubieron hablado
-
Comer (to eat):
- Yo hube comido
- Tú hubiste comido
- Él/Ella/Usted hubo comido
- Nosotros hubimos comido
- Vosotros hubisteis comido
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hubieron comido
-
Vivir (to live):
- Yo hube vivido
- Tú hubiste vivido
- Él/Ella/Usted hubo vivido
- Nosotros hubimos vivido
- Vosotros hubisteis vivido
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hubieron vivido
Examples:
Apenas hubo hablado, se fue. (No sooner had he spoken, he left.)
Tan pronto como hubieron terminado la tarea, empezaron a jugar. (As soon as they had finished the homework, they began to play.)