Just a terminology question, but why is this called "El Pretérito Perfecto Subjuntivo" instead of "El Presente Perfecto Subjuntivo"? I thought pretérito meant past tense? (It seems to mean past tense in the context of Pretérito Indefinido and Pretérito Imperfecto.)
pretérito vs presente
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RKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
pretérito vs presente
This question relates to:Spanish lesson "Conjugate Spanish regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs in present perfect subjunctive tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo)"
Asked 3 years ago
InmaKwiziq team member
Hola R,
in Spanish the tense using haber in the present plus the past participle (he ido, has venido, hemos comprado...) is considered a "past" tense, not a present tense. It is referring to actions that have already started (before the present time), this is why it is part of the "preterite" group; I imagine this is why the word "present" is not used in its name.
Saludos
RKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Then why is the English translation of the tense "present perfect subjunctive"?
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