haber Imperfect Conjugation
haber — to have
The imperfect of haber is regular for an -er verb: había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían.
haber Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a state of existence in the past ('there was/were') without a specific end, or to form the pluperfect (había comido).
Notes on haber in the Imperfect
Haber is actually regular in the imperfect, following the standard -ía endings for -er verbs.
Example Sentences
Había mucha comida en la mesa.
There was a lot of food on the table.
él/ella/usted
Ya habíamos comido cuando llegaste.
We had already eaten when you arrived.
nosotros
Había una vez un rey...
Once upon a time there was a king...
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'habían' to mean 'there were' for plural objects.
Correct: Había muchas personas.
Why: Like 'hay' and 'hubo', the impersonal 'there was/were' remains singular in the imperfect.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: he
Haber is highly irregular in the present: he, has, ha/hay, hemos, habéis, han.
Preterite
yo: hube
The preterite of haber uses the irregular stem 'hub-': hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubisteis, hubieron.
Future
yo: habré
The future of haber uses the irregular stem 'habr-': habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán.
Conditional
yo: habría
The conditional uses the irregular stem 'habr-': habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: haya
The present subjunctive of haber is irregular: haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: hubiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'hubier-' stem: hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo:
The imperative of haber is almost never used in modern Spanish.
Negative Imperative
yo:
The negative imperative of haber uses the present subjunctive: no haya, no hayas, etc.