Comí vs he comido: a regional split

Explication

Both tenses are correct everywhere; what differs is the default for recent, today's events. In Spain, things that happened today normally take the present perfect: hoy he comido tarde, esta mañana he ido al banco. In most of Latin America the preterite does that job: hoy comí tarde, ya llegué, ¿ya almorzaste?

To a Latin American ear, using the perfect for finished events of today (ya he comido, ¿has llegado ya?) sounds peninsular; to a Spanish ear, the bare preterite for 'just now' can sound abrupt. Neither is wrong — it's a regional default.

There is shared ground. Both regions use the present perfect for life experiences (¿alguna vez has probado…? — though LatAm also says ¿alguna vez probaste…?) and for still-open time frames: esta semana he tenido mucho trabajo, este año hemos viajado poco.

Exemples

Règles liées

• Passé composé : he hablado
• Passé simple régulier : hablé, comí, viví