The Animated Book
of SpanishGrammar Reference

The Spanish Past Participle

Adapted from The Animated Book of Spanish, an interactive Spanish grammar book.

The past participle (el participio) is the ‑ado / ‑ido form of a verb: hablado, comido. It's like English “spoken” or “eaten,” and it's used as an adjective and to build the perfect tenses.
How to form the past participle: hablar becomes hablado, comer becomes comido, vivir becomes vivido
Subject-AR verbs: hablar-ER verbs: comer-IR verbs: vivir
Verbhablarcomervivir
Ending‑ado‑ido‑ido
Participlehabladocomidovivido

Drop the ‑ar, ‑er, or ‑ir and add ‑ado (for ‑ar verbs) or ‑ido (for ‑er and ‑ir verbs).

It's the form English makes with “‑ed” or “‑en”:

  • hablar becomes habladoto speak, spoken
  • comer becomes comidoto eat, eaten
  • vivir becomes vividoto live, lived
  • ir becomes idoto go, gone
  • ser becomes sidoto be, been
  • tener becomes tenidoto have, had
  • dar becomes dadoto give, given
  • beber becomes bebidoto drink, drunk
  • olvidar becomes olvidadoto forget, forgotten
  • perder becomes perdidoto lose, lost
On this page

An accent on some ‑ído forms

When the stem of an ‑er or ‑ir verb ends in a vowel, the i takes a written accent, so it's pronounced as its own syllable:

  • leer becomes leídoto read, read
  • creer becomes creídoto believe, believed
  • oír becomes oídoto hear, heard
  • traer becomes traídoto bring, brought
  • caer becomes caídoto fall, fallen
  • reír becomes reídoto laugh, laughed

  • ¿Has leído el libro?

    Have you read the book?

  • No he oído nada.

    I haven’t heard anything.

Irregular past participles

About a dozen common verbs have an irregular past participle. There's no rule to predict them, but the list is short, and most of them end in ‑to.

ending in to

Most irregular participles end in ‑to.

  • abiertoabrir · to open
  • cubiertocubrir · to cover
  • escritoescribir · to write
  • muertomorir · to die
  • puestoponer · to put
  • resueltoresolver · to solve
  • rotoromper · to break
  • vistover · to see
  • vueltovolver · to return

  • Alguien ha abierto la ventana.

    Someone has opened the window.

  • ¿Has visto mis llaves?

    Have you seen my keys?

ending in cho

Two very common verbs end in ‑cho.

  • dichodecir · to say, tell
  • hechohacer · to do, make

  • ¿Qué has hecho?

    What have you done?

  • Ya te lo he dicho.

    I’ve already told you.

How the past participle is used

The past participle has three main jobs. The key difference: with haber it never changes, but as an adjective it agrees with the noun.

  1. With haber: the perfect tenses

    Haber + the participle makes the perfect tenses. Here the participle never changes.

    • He comido demasiado.

      I’ve eaten too much.

    • Cuando llegué, ya habían salido.

      When I arrived, they had already left.

    • ¿Has estado alguna vez en México?

      Have you ever been to Mexico?

  2. As an adjective

    Like any adjective, it matches the noun in gender and number, often after estar.

    • La puerta está abierta.

      The door is open.

    • Estos libros están escritos en español.

      These books are written in Spanish.

    • Las tiendas están cerradas los domingos.

      The stores are closed on Sundays.

  3. In the passive, with ser

    Ser + the participle says what was done to something. The participle agrees here too.

    • La novela fue escrita en 1967.

      The novel was written in 1967.

    • Los ganadores serán anunciados mañana.

      The winners will be announced tomorrow.

    • Este puente fue construido en 1890.

      This bridge was built in 1890.

Compare the same participle with haber and as an adjective:

  1. With haber
    He cerrado la puerta.

    I’ve closed the door.

    As an adjective
    La puerta está cerrada.

    The door is closed.

  2. With haber
    Hemos pintado las paredes.

    We’ve painted the walls.

    As an adjective
    Las paredes están pintadas.

    The walls are painted.

For how to use the perfect tenses themselves, see the perfect tenses.

Common mistakes English speakers make

  1. Using the regular form of an irregular participle

    Incorrect:¿Quién ha abrido la ventana?
    Correct:¿Quién ha abierto la ventana?

    Abrir is regular in every other tense, but its participle is irregular: abierto.

  2. Saying rompido

    Incorrect:Se me ha rompido el teléfono.
    Correct:Se me ha roto el teléfono.

    Romper is another verb that's only irregular in the participle: roto.

  3. Forgetting agreement as an adjective

    Incorrect:La ventana está abierto.
    Correct:La ventana está abierta.

    As an adjective, the participle matches the noun: la ventana is feminine, so abierta.

  4. Making it agree after haber

    Incorrect:Ya he escritas las cartas.
    Correct:Ya he escrito las cartas.

    After haber, the participle never changes, even when the object is feminine or plural.

  5. Forgetting the accent

    Incorrect:No lo he leido.
    Correct:No lo he leído.

    When the stem ends in a vowel, the i of ‑ido takes an accent: leído, creído, oído.

Questions about the past participle

What is the past participle in Spanish?

The -ado / -ido form of a verb: hablado, comido, vivido. It's used with haber to build the perfect tenses (he hablado), as an adjective (la puerta cerrada), and in the passive (fue escrito).

Does the past participle change for gender and number?

Only when it works as an adjective or in the passive: la puerta está cerrada, los libros fueron escritos. With haber it never changes: Las he cerrado.

What are the irregular past participles in Spanish?

The common ones are abierto (abrir), cubierto (cubrir), dicho (decir), escrito (escribir), hecho (hacer), muerto (morir), puesto (poner), resuelto (resolver), roto (romper), visto (ver), and vuelto (volver). Verbs built on them work the same way: devuelto, descrito.

What is the difference between the gerund and the past participle?

The gerund (hablando) is for actions in progress, like English "speaking." The past participle (hablado) is for finished actions and results, like "spoken." Compare Está cerrando la puerta ("He's closing the door") and La puerta está cerrada ("The door is closed").

Next upThe perfect tensesHaber + participle: the present perfect, plus the past, future, and conditional perfect.

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