“He ido al supermercado ayer” or “fui al supermercado ayer”? The correct one is “fui”, because “ayer” (yesterday) is a finished time. The basic rule for the DELE B1 is this: the pretérito perfecto (he comido) is used for periods that haven't finished yet (hoy, esta semana, este año) and for life experiences (alguna vez, nunca); the pretérito indefinido (comí) is used for finished periods (ayer, la semana pasada, en 2019). With one important nuance: in much of Latin America the indefinido covers many uses of the perfecto, and the exam accepts both varieties as long as you use them consistently.

In this article you'll find the time markers that go with each tense, how the variation between Spain and Latin America works, where this contrast shows up in the DELE B1 and the most common mistakes, with plenty of examples.

What's the difference between the pretérito perfecto and the indefinido?

At a glance:

  • Pretérito perfecto (he comido): actions within a period of time that hasn't ended, or that are connected to the present. Typical markers: hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este mes, este año, ya, todavía no, alguna vez, nunca.
  • Pretérito indefinido (comí): actions within a finished period, separate from the moment you're speaking. Typical markers: ayer, anoche, la semana pasada, hace dos años, en 2020, el lunes.
  • In Spain: both are used a lot, each with its own markers.
  • In much of Latin America: the perfecto is used much less and the indefinido takes over many of its contexts.

If you remember just one idea: in the Peninsular model, the perfecto lives in a unit of time that hasn't ended yet, and the indefinido in one that's already closed.

Where does this contrast appear in the DELE B1?

In almost every test:

  • Reading, Task 5: you read a text with gaps (usually a letter or an email) and choose the right form from three options. The difference between past tenses is one of the grammar points that comes up most often in this task, along with the subjunctive and prepositions.
  • Writing, Task 1: in the letter or email, when you tell someone about something you've done recently.
  • Writing, Task 2: the composition usually asks you to describe a past experience and give your opinion.
  • Speaking, Tasks 1 and 2: in the monologue and the conversation that follows it, when you talk about your life, what you've done this year or something that happened to you.

A tip that works really well in both writing and speaking: look at the verb tense used in the questions or prompts. If you're asked ¿qué has hecho este año para cuidarte?, answer in the perfecto. If you're asked ¿cuándo empezaste a hacer deporte?, answer in the indefinido. And if you're asked ¿qué deporte hacías de joven?, the answer goes in the imperfecto: de joven nadaba.

Which markers go with the pretérito perfecto?

When you see one of these, in the Peninsular model you almost always need the perfecto:

  • hoy (today): Hoy he ido al médico.
  • esta mañana, esta tarde, esta noche (if we're still in that part of the day): Esta tarde he tenido clase de español.
  • esta semana, este mes, este año, este verano: Esta semana he leído dos libros.
  • últimamente, en los últimos días, en los últimos meses (lately): Últimamente he estado un poco cansada.
  • ya (already): Ya he comido, gracias.
  • todavía no, aún no (not yet): Todavía no he terminado el informe.
  • alguna vez, nunca, jamás (life experiences): ¿Has estado alguna vez en Argentina? Nunca he probado el sushi.

Ask yourself: did what I'm describing happen within a period that hasn't finished yet? If so, perfecto.

Which markers go with the pretérito indefinido?

When you see one of these, you need the indefinido in every variety:

  • ayer (yesterday): Ayer fui al médico.
  • anteayer, anoche (the day before yesterday, last night): Anoche cené con mis padres.
  • la semana pasada, el mes pasado, el año pasado, el verano pasado: El verano pasado estuve en Italia.
  • hace + time (… ago): Hace tres años empecé a estudiar español.
  • en + year: En 2019 me mudé a Madrid.
  • el + day of the week (a specific past day): El lunes vi a Marta.
  • un día, una vez, aquella tarde (closed narrative): Una vez vi un oso en el monte.

Ask yourself: is the time when it happened closed, separate from the moment I'm speaking? If so, indefinido.

Is there an easy trick to get it right?

Picture circles of time. Today is an open circle: you're still inside it. This week, too. This year, too. Yesterday is a closed circle. Last week, too. 2019, too.

If you're inside the circle when you speak, perfecto. If the circle closed earlier, indefinido.

  • Hoy he desayunado tostadas. (it's still today)
  • Ayer desayuné tostadas. (yesterday is over)
  • Este año he viajado mucho. (we're still in this year)
  • El año pasado viajé mucho. (last year is closed)

What about Latin American Spanish in the exam?

In Peninsular Spanish the pretérito perfecto is very common. In much of Latin America, for example in Mexico, Argentina, Chile or Peru, the indefinido covers many of the uses of the perfecto. So Hoy comí en casa is completely correct and natural there, while in most of Spain the usual form is Hoy he comido en casa.

And in the DELE? The official exam guide is clear: in the texts candidates produce, any Spanish-language norm is considered valid as long as it is followed consistently and backed by large groups of educated speakers. In other words, you can use the Spanish model or the Latin American one. My advice is to choose one and keep it throughout the whole text or answer, without switching back and forth.

Use the model of the Spanish you learned and feel most natural with. If you studied with materials from Spain, use the perfecto and indefinido as explained here. If you learned in Latin America, a more general indefinido is perfectly fine.

Just keep in mind that in the Peninsular model, constructions with todavía no and life experiences (alguna vez, nunca) go in the perfecto. A question like ¿Estuviste alguna vez en Japón? is normal in much of Latin America, but in Spain people usually say ¿Has estado alguna vez en Japón?

Which uses will you need most in the DELE B1?

Use 1: recent experiences in the Task 1 letter

The task usually asks you to write to a friend about something recent: a trip, a course, a move, a new job. Here both tenses mix: the general frame goes in the perfecto and specific dated events in the indefinido.

Peninsular model: Últimamente he hecho muchas cosas. La semana pasada empecé un curso nuevo y todavía no lo he terminado.

Model used in much of Latin America: Hice muchas cosas en estos días. La semana pasada empecé un curso nuevo y todavía no lo terminé.

Both versions are valid. What doesn't work is mixing them in the same text.

Use 2: your week or your year in the oral monologue

In oral Task 1, if the topic asks you about your habits or what you've done lately, you'll combine what you've done this year or this week with something specific that happened at a closed point in time.

Peninsular model: Esta semana he ido al cine, ayer comí con mi familia y hace dos años empecé a estudiar español.

Model used in much of Latin America: Esta semana fui al cine, ayer comí con mi familia y hace dos años empecé a estudiar español.

Use 3: narrating a trip, a party or an event

When you tell the story of a closed event (a trip, a wedding, your first day at work), what happened within that event goes in the indefinido. It's a closed circle.

Incorrect: Cuando he ido a París, he visitado la Torre Eiffel y he comido en un restaurante muy bueno.

Correct: Cuando fui a París, visité la Torre Eiffel y comí en un restaurante muy bueno.

Exception in the Peninsular model: if the trip was este verano and you're still within that period, you can use the perfecto: Este verano he ido a París y he visitado la Torre Eiffel.

To describe what things were like or what you used to do during that trip, remember you need the imperfecto: Hacía mucho calor y todos los días comíamos en una terraza.

Use 4: life experiences with “alguna vez”, “nunca” or “ya”

Experiences accumulated over your life go in the perfecto in the Peninsular model.

Peninsular model: ¿Has probado alguna vez la paella? Nunca he ido a Asia.

Model used in much of Latin America: ¿Probaste alguna vez la paella? Nunca fui a Asia.

Use 5: recent changes or results that still hold

If what you're describing has a result that's still valid now, the Peninsular model uses the perfecto. If you present it as a closed event, with its date, it goes in the indefinido.

Me he comprado un coche. (I have it now; the result lasts)
Me compré un coche hace tres años. (the focus is on the past event)

This is where the finer nuances begin. For the B1, what matters is that you understand the logic.

What are the most common mistakes with these past tenses?

Mistake 1: letting your first language lead you

If your first language has a tense similar to the perfecto (like English, French or German), it's easy to carry its rules into Spanish. In French or German, for instance, the compound tense is also used with “yesterday”, which pushes people to say He comido ayer, and that's wrong in Spanish.

Quick rule: if you see ayer, write comí. If you see hoy and you're following the Peninsular model, write he comido.

Mistake 2: always using the perfecto because it seems more “elegant”

The perfecto isn't more formal or more correct than the indefinido. Each one has its own context.

Incorrect: He estudiado español en 2018.
Correct: Estudié español en 2018.

Mistake 3: mixing both models in the same answer

Inconsistent: Ayer comí en casa de mi madre. Hoy comí en el trabajo. La semana pasada he ido al cine.

The indefinido with hoy follows the Latin American model, and the perfecto with la semana pasada isn't correct in either model. Choose one:

Peninsular model: Ayer comí en casa de mi madre. Hoy he comido en el trabajo. La semana pasada fui al cine.

Mistake 4: forcing the perfecto into a closed story

When you tell a story with a closed time frame, what happens inside it goes in the indefinido.

Incorrect: El año pasado fui a Italia. He visitado Roma y he probado la pasta.
Correct: El año pasado fui a Italia. Visité Roma y probé la pasta.

Mistake 5: getting irregular forms wrong

Beyond usage, check the forms. Irregular past participles worth keeping fresh: hecho (hacer), dicho (decir), visto (ver), puesto (poner), abierto (abrir), escrito (escribir), vuelto (volver), muerto (morir), roto (romper), descubierto (descubrir).

Very common irregular indefinido forms: fui, fuiste, fue (ir and ser); dije, dijiste, dijo; hice, hiciste, hizo; traje, trajiste, trajo; estuve, estuviste, estuvo; tuve, tuviste, tuvo; pude, pudiste, pudo; supe, supiste, supo.

If you're unsure about an irregular form while writing, you can sometimes rephrase. Lo que él dijo me sorprendió can become Sus palabras me sorprendieron.

How can you practise the contrast before the exam?

A simple fifteen-day plan:

  • Days 1 to 3: learn the time markers and write five sentences of your own with each one.
  • Days 4 to 7: read texts in Spanish (news, blogs) and underline the past tenses. Identify which one it is and why it's used.
  • Days 8 to 10: write a short diary entry every day about what you've done today and what you did yesterday.
  • Days 11 to 13: record yourself talking for two minutes about your week. Then listen and check your past tenses.
  • Days 14 and 15: practise writing Task 1 and oral Task 1 with updated models that simulate the exam, paying attention to this contrast.

It doesn't take a lot of time. It takes consistency.

FAQ about the perfecto and the indefinido in the DELE B1

What if I learned Latin American Spanish and hardly use the perfecto?

No problem. Use the model of your variety consistently. In many parts of Latin America, life experiences with alguna vez, nunca, ya, todavía are also expressed with the indefinido, and the exam accepts it. What matters is not mixing models within the same answer.

Is “acabo de + infinitive” the same as the perfecto?

Not exactly. Acabo de comer is a verbal periphrasis meaning something happened a moment ago. It's close to He comido ahora mismo, but they aren't always interchangeable. For the B1 it's enough to know it means “very recently”, and it's very useful, for example, in a diary entry.

What if I make one or two mistakes in the exam?

An isolated mistake won't make you fail: writing and speaking are marked on the overall performance, using band scales. What stands out most is the systematic mistake, the one you repeat again and again.

Are there sentences that accept both tenses?

Yes, especially with hoy. Hoy he visto a Marta is the usual form in most of Spain. Hoy vi a Marta is usual in much of Latin America and also in some parts of Spain, such as the Canary Islands, Galicia or Asturias. Both are correct in their variety.

What about the pluperfect and the imperfecto?

You'll need them at B1 too: the imperfecto to describe and talk about past habits (cuando era pequeña, vivía en el campo) and the pluperfect for something that happened before another past event (cuando llegué, ya habían cenado). You'll find all four tenses explained together in this article on Spanish past tenses.

Is there an official list of time markers?

There's no closed official list. The one in this article covers the most common markers at this level, and with it you'll be able to handle the vast majority of B1 situations.

Does memorising sentences help?

Not much. What works is understanding the logic of the circles of time and having written and said plenty of your own sentences with each marker.

In short

  • In the Peninsular model, the perfecto goes with unfinished periods (hoy, esta semana, este año) and the indefinido with closed ones (ayer, la semana pasada, en 2019).
  • Time markers are your best clue, and so is the verb tense in the questions and prompts.
  • The DELE accepts any variety of Spanish used consistently: choose a model and don't mix it.
  • Life experiences (alguna vez, nunca) go in the perfecto in Spain; in much of Latin America, in the indefinido too.
  • If you tell a closed story, what happens inside it goes in the indefinido.
  • You'll need this in reading Task 5, in both writing tasks and in the oral test.

To keep going, this article covers the expressions for talking about the future in the DELE B1. And if you're preparing for the exam, my B1 online course gives you strategies for each test, commented examples, a community, a chat for your questions and group calls: https://b1.aporeldele.com/

If you prefer to practise on paper, my B1 book is also on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4e66lV6

If you're not sure the B1 is your level, take the level test first: https://www.aporeldele.com/en/prueba-de-nivel. And if you'd like free resources and reminders before each exam session, sign up for the newsletter: https://recursos.aporeldele.com/boletin

¡A por el DELE! 🇪🇸