Inklingo

How to Say "to do" in Spanish

The Spanish word forto dois hacerA1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA1
VerbA1
performing an action, e.g., homework
A person carefully assembling a small wooden birdhouse on a workbench, illustrating the meaning 'to make' or 'to do'.

Examples

¿Qué haces?

What are you doing?

Hago la cena todas las noches.

I make dinner every night.

Mi hermano hizo un pastel delicioso.

My brother made a delicious cake.

The Irregular 'yo' Form: 'hago'

In the present tense, the 'yo' (I) form of 'hacer' is irregular. Instead of 'haco,' it's 'hago.' This 'go' ending is a common pattern in other irregular verbs too, like 'pongo' (from poner) and 'salgo' (from salir).

A Tricky Past Tense

Watch out for the simple past tense (called the preterite). The 'c' changes to 'z' for 'él/ella/usted' to keep the sound right: 'hizo'. Also, the 'i' is used instead of the usual 'e': 'hice', 'hiciste', 'hizo'.

Confusing 'Do' vs. 'Make'

Mistake:Trying to find separate Spanish verbs for the English 'do' and 'make'.

Correction: Relax! In Spanish, 'hacer' covers both. You use 'hacer' for doing homework ('hacer la tarea') and for making a cake ('hacer un pastel'). It's simpler than English in this case.

Learn Spanish with Inklingo

Interactive stories, personalized learning, and more.