When we speak we use verb forms to refer to actions, which may be related to the present, the past or the future. Thus, when we refer to the past it is possible to use the simple past (for example, I walked, she worked or he climbed) or, on the other hand, we can use the past perfect (I have seen, he has worked or we have achieved) .
How the past perfect is formed
The past perfect is a compound tense and is formed with the present of the verb have (I have, you have, he has, we have, you have and they have) plus the participle form (seen, won, left ... ). In this sense, it should be noted that there are two types of participles: regular and irregular. In the first case we would speak of those finished in "ado" or "gone", as worked, achieved or drunk. In the second case we would speak of seen, returned, done and many others.
When to use the past perfect
The past perfect is used when we want to express that the past has occurred recently. Thus, if I have taken a walk this morning, I will say "I have walked", because the action that I mention has already occurred but it is still part of the present, since it is something that happened today. This means that the past perfect refers to past experiences that are in connection with the present time. It is common to use it with temporary markers that happened today (for example, this morning or this afternoon).
You can also use the past perfect with other temporary markers that have the word this-to, these-as, such as "this week I have gone to the beach" or "these days I have run quite a few kilometers". In this way, temporary markers like today or this-to tell us when something has happened, but that something has some relation to the present.
Sometimes the past perfect is used without temporary markers; for example, if I say "I have seen Real Madrid games many times" I am not saying when I have seen them).
A curiosity about the past perfect
Although the past perfect is a tense that is part of Spanish grammar, in practice it is used normally in Spain and very rarely in Latin America. Thus, an Argentine says "I studied all morning" while a Spaniard says "I studied all morning". Argentine uses the indefinite past tense (also called simple past perfect or past simple) and Spanish uses the past perfect in its compound form.
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