
haber Present Conjugation
haber — to have
Haber is highly irregular in the present: he, has, ha/hay, hemos, habéis, han.
haber Present Forms
When to Use the Present
The present tense is primarily used as an auxiliary verb to form the present perfect (he comido) or as 'hay' to mean 'there is' or 'there are'.
Notes on haber in the Present
The forms are unique. Note that 'hay' is the special form used for 'there is/are', while 'ha' is used as the auxiliary for 'he/she has'.
Example Sentences
Hay mucha gente en la plaza.
There are many people in the square.
él/ella/usted
He visto esa película tres veces.
I have seen that movie three times.
yo
Hemos terminado el trabajo.
We have finished the work.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'ha' instead of 'hay' to mean 'there is'.
Correct: Hay un problema.
Why: 'Ha' is only for the auxiliary 'he/she has done something'; 'hay' is for existence.
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Related Tenses
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.
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.