Español — Result periphrases with the participle
With tener and llevar plus a past participle, Spanish expresses an accumulated or acquired result, and the participle agrees in gender and number with the direct object: Tengo hechos los deberes; Llevo leídas 100 páginas.
How it works
The participle agrees in gender and number with the direct object, not with the subject. Tener + participle marks a completed result you now possess (Tengo hechos los deberes = the homework is done and in hand), while llevar + participle marks a running total that keeps growing (Llevo leídas cien páginas = a hundred pages read so far, and counting).
Examples
| Example | Agreement | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Tengo hechos los deberes | hechos (masc. pl.) ← los deberes | I have the homework done |
| Llevo leídas cien páginas | leídas (fem. pl.) ← páginas | I have read a hundred pages so far |
| Tiene preparada la cena | preparada (fem. sing.) ← la cena | She has dinner ready |
| Llevamos recorridos veinte kilómetros | recorridos (masc. pl.) ← kilómetros | We have covered twenty kilometres so far |
| Tengo escritas tres cartas | escritas (fem. pl.) ← cartas | I have three letters written |
| Llevo vistos cinco capítulos | vistos (masc. pl.) ← capítulos | I have watched five episodes so far |
Good to know
Do not confuse this with the compound perfect haber + participle, where the participle is invariable: He hecho los deberes (never *he hechos), Ha leído cien páginas. Agreement happens only with tener/llevar (and estar/ser), because there the participle describes the object as a resulting state. These periphrases also need an explicit direct object to agree with; without one, use haber.