haber Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
haber — to have
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'hubier-' stem: hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran.
haber Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this in 'if' clauses for hypotheticals (e.g., 'si hubiera...') or after past-tense triggers of doubt or emotion.
Notes on haber in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is derived from the preterite 'hubieron' form. The -ra endings are much more common than the -se endings.
Example Sentences
Si hubiera sabido, habría venido.
If I had known, I would have come.
yo
Ojalá hubiera más tiempo.
I wish there were more time.
él/ella/usted
Me pidió que no hubiera ruido.
He asked me that there be no noise.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'nosotros' form.
Correct: Hubiéramos.
Why: In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form always has an accent on the vowel before the -ramos ending.
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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.
Imperfect
yo: había
The imperfect of haber is regular for an -er verb: había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían.
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.
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.