The chart below shows you which conjugation of HABER to use to form each of the compound tenses (also called "perfect" tenses.) Pay attention to the English translation so you can see and hear the differences between them.
Notice the name of the tense, refers to the tense used for HABER.
| Tense | Form of HABER conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | present | I have read |
| Past perfect (or pluscuamperfecto) | imperfect | I had read |
| Future perfect | future | I will have read |
| Conditional perfect | conditional | I would have read |
| Present perfect subjunctive | present subjunctive | He likes that I have read... |
| Past perfect subjunctive | imperfect subjunctive | He was surprised that I had read... |
NOTE: You don't really ever see haber in the preterit as a compound tense except in formal or archaic writing.