haber Preterite Conjugation
haber — to have
The preterite of haber uses the irregular stem 'hub-': hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubisteis, hubieron.
haber Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to indicate that something existed or occurred at a specific moment in the past. It is most commonly used in the third-person singular 'hubo' to say 'there was/there were' for a completed event.
Notes on haber in the Preterite
Haber is highly irregular in the preterite. It uses the 'u' stem (hub-) and takes the irregular preterite endings which do not have accents.
Example Sentences
Hubo un accidente en la calle principal.
There was an accident on the main street.
él/ella/usted
No hubo tiempo para terminar la reunión.
There wasn't time to finish the meeting.
él/ella/usted
Apenas hube llegado, empezó a llover.
As soon as I had arrived, it started to rain.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'hubieron' to mean 'there were' many people.
Correct: Hubo mucha gente.
Why: When haber means 'there is/are', it is impersonal and only used in the singular (hubo), even if the object is plural.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: he
Haber is highly irregular in the present: he, has, ha/hay, hemos, habéis, han.
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.