Complete Spanish

Track 54

1. Any form of haber takes the same following verb Rule

Worth stating in full generality: it does not matter which version of haber you use, even the "to" form itself. The verb after it always takes -ado or -ido.

he perdido
I have lost
había perdido
I had lost
habría perdido
I would have lost
habré perdido
I will have lost
haber ido
to have gone

Me gustaría haber ido (I would like to have gone)

2. That form doubles as an adjective Rule

Just as in English, where I have sold gives it is sold and I have lost gives I am lost. This hands you hundreds of adjectives.

lo he cerrado
after haber: never changes
está cerrada
as an adjective: agrees

After haber it is always cerrado, whatever the object. As an adjective it agrees in gender and number like any other.

Estoy perdido / perdida · Está terminado · Está terminada · Están vendidos · Están vendidas

3. These adjectives go with estar Rule

A rare simplification: with this particular type of adjective you do not need to weigh state against characteristic. They go with estar, with a couple of exceptions.

Está cerrado · Está cerrada · Está hecho · Está abierto

4. Naming something is as characteristic as it gets Concept

The exception that explains the persona trick from earlier. When you say what something is, giving it its name, nothing could be more characteristic, so you use ser. The adjective riding along is secondary.

la silla está mojada
the chair is wet: a state of the chair
es una silla mojada
it's a wet chair: it IS a chair

Es una persona cerrada · Es una persona perdida · Es una persona feliz

So es cerrado alone sounds like a mistake, but es una persona cerrada is fine, because es is going with persona.

Está cerrado a la idea (he is closed to the idea)

5. Some adjectives you already knew were built this way Pattern

Cansado is not a standalone word: it is cansar, to tire, in its after-haber form.

cansar
to tire
me canso
I get tired, I get fed up
me he cansado
I have got tired, I have had enough
estoy cansado
I am tired

As with the other reflexives, it does not literally mean you are responsible for tiring yourself.

6. New vocabulary Vocabulary

la puerta
the door
la película
the movie
la silla
the chair, the seat
mojar
to wet
la idea
the idea (feminine)

La he cerrado (referring to la puerta) · Está terminada (la película)