Forum Rocket Spanish Spanish - Grammar Using the second verb the infinative form

Using the second verb the infinative form

george-gmh

george-gmh

When using two verbs in sentence the second one is usually in the infinitive form.  Is this true for the present tense only?  

Steven-W15

Steven-W15

No. The second verb will always be in the infinitive regardless of the tense of the first verb.

george-gmh

george-gmh

Take following example of two verbs
Ha from Habar
Sido from Ser

Ha sido un gusto.
What is going on there?

Steven-W15

Steven-W15

Sorry! I spoke too soon (and what I said is true of French, not Spanish). Aie. Your example ("It was a pleasure"). Other examples:
- He estado esperando
- Estuve estudiando el presupuesto
- Si nos quedamos conversando...

Robert-C7

Robert-C7

Ha sido con gusto = present perfect tense.  That is, it is a compound tense.  There are many compound tenses in Spanish, just like in English.

Here, ha is the present indicative conjugation of haber, and sido is the participle of ser.

Dan-H24

Dan-H24

I agree with both Steven and Robert.

Normally when one verb follows another the second is expressed in the infinitive form. I always think of those as "bonus" verbs because I don't have to figure out the conjugation.

But as Robert said, haber is an auxiliary verb that works with another verb to form the compound tenses, both of which are conjugated.

I wonder if haber is the only verb that works this way, or are there others?

 

EDIT: I just googled that question and got this answer:

Haber, Tener, Ser, Estar.

Robert-C7

Robert-C7

You can string three of them together too:

He estado estudiando.
I have been studying.

I suppose this is an example of the present perfect progressive tense.

marieg-rocket languages

marieg-rocket languages

Hi!

Keep in mind that these examples are using conjugated verbs, so they're not in the infinitive form (estudiando, esperando, sido, etc...)

Now, for the example, "Ha sido un gusto" which can also be said as "Fue un placer". Sido is already conjugated (past participle). Gusto and Placer are acting as nouns, not as verbs...

If George is referring to 2 consecutive verbs in a sentence, then in Spanish the infinitive would only be in the present tense. If he is referring about two verbs in the same sentence (but not together) I can think of:

"Él fue a traer una caja". - He went to get a box.
"Ella vino para contar su historia". - She came to tell her story.
"Juan se sentó a hablar con ellos". - Juan sat down to talk to them.

I hope this helps!
george-gmh

george-gmh

This has been a helpful discussion.  And, I'm still not totally sure how to deal with past participles. However:

My original question was: 
"When using two verbs in sentence the second one is usually in the infinitive form.  Is this true for the present tense only?  "

If understand Marie correctly the answer to that question is - Yes

Ava Dawn

Ava Dawn

Marie's last three examples are in the past tense, fue, vino, sento (accent in o)

Ask a question or post a response

If you want to ask a question or post a response you need to be a member.

If you are already a member login here.
If you are not a member you can become one by taking the free Rocket Spanish trial here.