Compound Tenses

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by Perikles

It must be the heat - I could not see the 'problem' until you changed its colour. Sorry - color.

Oh, really? I was certain that you had written it like that on purpose. ("habías escrito" o "hubiste escrito"....)

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Oh, really? I was certain that you had written it like that on purpose. ("habías escrito" o "hubiste escrito"....)

Is hubiese escrito

Did you want to mean that?

[irmamar]

When you are studying verbs, you're studying "conjugación verbal", all the forms a verb is able to show depending on some categories (tiempo, persona, número, modo, aspecto, etc.). Verbal compound forms belong to that "conjugación", and they are formed with "haber".

"Perífrasis verbales" are two verbs together working as a unity. One of the verbs is conjugated, the other is a non-personal form (infinitivo, gerundio o participio), with a link (preposition, conjunction) or not. For instance: tener que hacer (tengo que hacer, tienes que hacer, etc.), deber salir (debo salir, debes salir, etc.), estar + haciendo (estoy haciendo, estás haciendo, etc.). Verbal compound forms are also "perífrasis verbales" (he comido, has hecho, etc.). But when you study those "perífrasis" you have already studied conjugation, so you will learn that verbal compound forms are a kind of perífrasis and you don't need to learn them, because you already know them. There are a large quantity of "perífrasis" divided into some types, but you can use many verbs in a non-personal form, while the conjugated ones are not so many (estar, haber, tener que, ir a, andar, seguir, dejar, ser, etc.).

Similary, passive voice is also a "perífrasis verbal", but you won't study passive voice with "perífrasis", since it deserves a separate lesson (like verbal compound forms). When you study "perífrasis", you'll be told that passive voice is a special kind of perífrasis, but you'll already know it.

In English I have studied continuous forms of verbs while I was studying another tenses, but I have never done that when studying Spanish. I guess the reason is that we don't have a "presente continuo" or a "pasado continuo" (and when I hear those terms, I'm sure that they are anglicisms), we use that sort of "perífrasis" instead. Well, they are grammar matters.

[chileno]

Irma:

I think this explanation will satisfy Lou Ann's mathematical mind perfectly.

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by chileno

Irma:

I think this explanation will satisfy Lou Ann's mathematical mind perfectly.

Sure?

[laepelba]

Okay, you two, sometimes it scares me when people I've never met know me so well. LOL!! Thanks for that in depth explanation, Irma. I still don't like it ... but can live with it.

[irmamar]

I'm sure you'll be able to understand it. I've been told that I have a logical mind, too logical even. But grammar and the way of learning it is not a problem for me.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I'm sure you'll be able to understand it. I've been told that I have a logical mind, too logical even. But grammar and the way of learning it is not a problem for me.

Oh, I KNOW you have a logical mind. That is why I'm always SO glad when you jump in with answers to my nit picky grammar questions. In fact, I typically ask them with you in mind. It's not that I don't understand. I just don't like it. I think I need to go work on some Algebra....

[irmamar]

Why don't you like it? It's beautiful like a bright white flower in a green field (algebra is not like this, by the way).

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Why don't you like it? It's beautiful like a bright white flower in a green field (algebra is not like this, by the way).

My dislike is just because I don't see such a huge difference between "estar + gerundio" and "haber + participio".

Given that I DO understand ALL of these explanations, and that I CAN accept them, I will choose to live with my "dislike" of this one tiny point, because I KNOW that it will NOT hamper my ability to learn to speak Spanish. Thanks for all of your contributions!!