why is "pretérito perfecto" translated as "present perfect"?

James G.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

why is "pretérito perfecto" translated as "present perfect"?

why is "pretérito perfecto" translated as "present perfect"? 

"Preterite" means past tense, ¿verdad?

Gracias

Asked 4 years ago
James G.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributorCorrect answer

Inma,
Gracias por aclarar eso. 

InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in Kwiziq

Hola James,

Pretérito Perfecto or Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto is the name given to the Present Perfect in English. It is a tense that expresses an action in the past (preterite) but somehow it is seen connected to the present. However in Spanish it is still called Pretérito Perfecto while in English it is called Present Perfect. This is simply the way it goes with grammar in Spanish and grammar in English. 

There are other differences in names in English and Spanish, that simply have to be learned to be honest, and accept that they have different names. For example, in English you have the "present participle" but in Spanish it's not called "presente participio"; we call the -ando/-iendo forms (your -ing form) the "gerund", never el presente participio

Here in our site you have a guide to all names given to tenses both in Spain and Latin America, if you want to have a look. I hope it's useful.

Un saludo cordial,

Inma

James G. asked:

why is "pretérito perfecto" translated as "present perfect"?

why is "pretérito perfecto" translated as "present perfect"? 

"Preterite" means past tense, ¿verdad?

Gracias

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