Spanish · A2 · Family moment
Wobbles and Giggles in Spanish
Celebrate your child's first movements and milestones. We will focus on describing these actions using the Pretérito Perfecto (Present Perfect) to talk about recent events that just happened.
What you'll learn
- Talk about recent physical actions and milestones
- Form the Pretérito Perfecto with auxiliary 'haber' and past participles
- Use reflexive verbs related to movement like 'sentarse' and 'levantarse'
Spanish phrases for wobbles and giggles
Has participado en nuestro juego de palmas.
You joined in with our clapping game.
'Participar' is a regular -ar verb; the participle is 'participado'.
He construido una torre pequeña para ti.
I built a little tower for you.
'Construido' is the past participle of 'construir'.
La torre se ha caído.
The tower fell over.
'Caerse' is reflexive; the 'se' moves to the front of the verb phrase.
Te has levantado con mi ayuda.
You stood up with my help.
'Levantarse' implies the action of rising or standing up.
Te has sentado a mi lado.
You sat down beside me.
'Sentarse' is reflexive; 'has sentado' indicates you have sat down.
Has recogido tu peluche.
You picked up your teddy.
'Recoger' means to pick up or collect.
He ordenado tus juguetes.
I tidied up your toys.
'Ordenar' is used for tidying or putting things in order.
Te has dormido después de jugar.
You fell asleep after playing.
'Dormirse' means to fall asleep, while 'dormir' just means to sleep.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
Peluche
Teddy / Stuffed animal
A very common word in Spanish households with children.
Palmas
Clapping / Palms
Used in 'juego de palmas' for patty-cake or clapping games.
Ayuda
Help
A feminine noun: 'la ayuda'.
The Pretérito Perfecto (Present Perfect)
In Spanish, to express recent actions (like 'I have built'), we use the auxiliary verb 'Haber' plus the Past Participle. Unlike some languages with separable prefixes, Spanish keeps the verb together, but often uses reflexive pronouns (me, te, se) for movements.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Haber (You) | Has | Has jugado (You have played) |
| Haber (I) | He | He construido (I have built) |
| -AR Participle | -ado | Levantado (stood up) |
| -ER/-IR Participle | -ido | Caído (fallen) |
More examples
¿Te has caído?
Did you fall down?
Using the perfect tense for a very recent accident.
¡Mira! Has recogido la pelota.
Look! You picked up the ball.
Celebrating a small movement milestone.