Haber+past participle

[poli]

Is it ever OK to insert another word between haber and the past participle?

[Rusty]

It's not a common practice and technically against the rules. The verb form you're talking about is considered a unit (an entity) in Spanish. You shouldn't insert any other word.

However, you will run into it, mostly when folks are trying to sound literary, I would guess.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I think I agree with Rusty. It's rather in literary texts that this will be found; mostly for inserting a linking word, or when sentences are the continuation of a story or a previous idea. I think the fact that you insert the word into the verb construction creates an emphasis on these words, but they can always be put somewhere else, outside the compound verb.


- No he, sin embargo, hablado del asunto con nadie. = Sin embargo, no he hablado del asunto...
- Cuando me di cuenta, el pájaro había ya volado de mi mano. = ...el pájaro ya había volado...
- Confío en que habremos pronto terminado el asunto. = ...pronto habremos terminado...
- Esta carta me dice que antes de morir, ella había, al menos, tenido una vida feliz. = ...ella, al menos, había tenido...
- Y todo esto nos pasó, porque habíamos (lo digo sin recato) robado las joyas. = ... porque, lo digo sin recato, habíamos robado las joyas.
- No hemos, para nada, decidido cómo hacer el proyecto. = No hemos decidido para nada cómo...

[poli]

Thank you both!