Module 53: The Verb Haber in Spanish

The verb haber is one of the most important and irregular verbs in Spanish. It is primarily used as an auxiliary verb to form perfect tenses, but it also has an impersonal form, hay, that means “there is” or “there are.”

Lesson 1. Introduction to the Verb Haber

Conjugation of Haber

Present Tense (Indicative)

- he – I have
- has – you have (informal)
- ha – he/she/it has
- hemos – we have
- habéis – you all have (informal, plural, Spain)
- han – they have

Past Tense (Preterite)

- hube – I had
- hubiste – you had
- hubo – he/she/it had
- hubimos – we had
- hubisteis – you all had (informal, plural, Spain)
- hubieron – they had

Future Tense

- habré – I will have
- habrás – you will have
- habrá – he/she/it will have
- habremos – we will have
- habréis – you all will have
- habrán – they will have

Conditional Tense

habría – I would have
habrías – you would have
habría – he/she/it would have
habríamos – we would have
habríais – you all would have
habrían – they would have

Lesson 2: Uses of Haber

Auxiliary Verb in Perfect Tenses

In the perfect tenses, haber is used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that an action has been completed or to form the past, present, and future perfect tenses. The main verb is always in the past participle form.

Present Perfect (He comido – I have eaten)
Past Perfect (Pluperfect) (Había comido – I had eaten)
Future Perfect (Habré comido – I will have eaten)
Conditional Perfect (Habría comido – I would have eaten)

Examples:

Present Perfect: Yo he visto la película. – I have seen the movie.
Past Perfect: Ellos habían llegado antes. – They had arrived earlier.
Future Perfect: Tú habrás terminado para mañana. – You will have finished by tomorrow.
Conditional Perfect: Nosotros habríamos hecho eso. – We would have done that.

Impersonal Use (Hay)

The verb haber is also used in its impersonal form, hay, to mean “there is” or “there are.” It is used to indicate existence or presence.

Hay – There is, there are
Había – There was, there were
Habrá – There will be
Habría – There would be

Examples:

Hay muchas personas aquí. – There are many people here.
Había un perro en la calle. – There was a dog on the street.
Habrá una reunión mañana. – There will be a meeting tomorrow.
Habría más personas si hubiera comida. – There would be more people if there was food.

Lesson 3: Using Haber in a Sentence

Here are six example sentences using haber in the present tense with a variety of other verbs:

Yo he comido mucho hoy. – I have eaten a lot today.
Tú has estudiado para el examen. – You have studied for the exam.
Ella ha viajado a varios países. – She has traveled to several countries.
Nosotros hemos terminado el proyecto. – We have finished the project.
Vosotros habéis hablado con el profesor. – You all have talked to the teacher.
Ellos han aprendido mucho en este curso. – They have learned a lot in this course.

Here are six example sentences using haber in the past tense (preterite) with a variety of other verbs:

Yo hube comido antes de salir. – I had eaten before leaving.
Tú hubiste estudiado toda la noche. – You had studied all night.
Él hubo viajado a España el año pasado. – He had traveled to Spain last year.
Nosotros hubimos terminado el trabajo cuando llegaste. – We had finished the work when you arrived.
Vosotros hubisteis hablado con los clientes. – You all had spoken with the clients.
Ellos hubieron aprendido la lección antes del examen. – They had learned the lesson before the exam.

Here are six example sentences using haber in the future perfect tense with a variety of other verbs:

Yo habré terminado el proyecto para mañana. – I will have finished the project by tomorrow.
Tú habrás viajado a muchos países antes de cumplir 30 años. – You will have traveled to many countries before turning 30.
Él habrá leído ese libro antes de la próxima clase. – He will have read that book before the next class.
Nosotros habremos resuelto el problema para la reunión. – We will have solved the problem by the meeting.
Vosotros habréis completado el trabajo antes de ir de vacaciones. – You all will have completed the work before going on vacation.
Ellos habrán aprendido mucho al final del curso. – They will have learned a lot by the end of the course.

Here are six example sentences using haber in the conditional perfect tense with a variety of other verbs:

Yo habría terminado el informe si hubiera tenido más tiempo. – I would have finished the report if I had had more time.
Tú habrías viajado a París si no hubiera sido tan caro. – You would have traveled to Paris if it hadn’t been so expensive.
Ella habría estudiado más si hubiera sabido sobre el examen. – She would have studied more if she had known about the exam.
Nosotros habríamos comprado el coche si hubiéramos tenido suficiente dinero. – We would have bought the car if we had had enough money.
Vosotros habríais llamado antes si hubierais sabido que estábamos en casa. – You all would have called earlier if you had known we were home.
Ellos habrían terminado el proyecto a tiempo si no hubiera ocurrido ese problema. – They would have finished the project on time if that problem hadn’t happened.

End of Module 53: Review

Mastering haber is essential for expressing actions in the perfect tenses and understanding existence or presence in various situations. Through continuous practice and application in both auxiliary and impersonal contexts, you will strengthen your command of Spanish verb tenses.