Haber conjugation

Haber means "there to be / to have (auxiliary)". Here it is in every main tense, with real example sentences and a free checker for your own.

Meaningthere to be / to have (auxiliary)

Type-er verb

Gerundhabiendo

Past participlehabido

Haber changes form (an irregular, stem-changing or spelling-changing form) in the present, preterite, future, conditional and present subjunctive. Juntos teaches Latin American Spanish, where ustedes replaces vosotros; the vosotros forms are shown for completeness.

Quick answer. Present: he, has, ha, hemos, han. Preterite: hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubieron. All tenses below.

Haber conjugation tables

Jump to: present · preterite · imperfect · future · conditional · present subjunctive · present perfect · commands (imperative)

Haber in the present

what happens now or usually

yo	he
tú	has
él / ella / usted	ha
nosotros	hemos
vosotros (Spain)	habéis
ellos / ustedes	han

Haber in the preterite

a finished action at a specific time

yo	hube
tú	hubiste
él / ella / usted	hubo
nosotros	hubimos
vosotros (Spain)	hubisteis
ellos / ustedes	hubieron

Haber in the imperfect

habits, descriptions and background in the past

yo	había
tú	habías
él / ella / usted	había
nosotros	habíamos
vosotros (Spain)	habíais
ellos / ustedes	habían

Haber in the future

what will happen

yo	habré
tú	habrás
él / ella / usted	habrá
nosotros	habremos
vosotros (Spain)	habréis
ellos / ustedes	habrán

Haber in the conditional

what would happen

yo	habría
tú	habrías
él / ella / usted	habría
nosotros	habríamos
vosotros (Spain)	habríais
ellos / ustedes	habrían

Haber in the present subjunctive

after wishes, doubts and requests (quiero que…)

yo	haya
tú	hayas
él / ella / usted	haya
nosotros	hayamos
vosotros (Spain)	hayáis
ellos / ustedes	hayan

Haber in the present perfect

what has happened, up to now (he comido)

yo	he habido
tú	has habido
él / ella / usted	ha habido
nosotros	hemos habido
vosotros (Spain)	habéis habido
ellos / ustedes	han habido

Haber in the commands (imperative)

telling someone to do something (habla, no hables)

tú	ha
tú (no)	no hayas
usted	haya
nosotros	hayamos
vosotros (Spain)	habed
ustedes	hayan

Haber in real sentences

Example sentences from the Juntos exercise bank, each checked before learners see it.

Imperfect

Antes de ese día, ella había preparado todo lo que necesitaba.
Before that day, she had already prepared everything that she needed.
Había mucha gente en el mercado.
There were many people in the market.

Mistakes learners make with haber

Hay is both "there is" and "there are": hay tres bancos. For where a specific thing is, use estar: el banco está en la esquina.
Existence stays singular in the past too: había mucha gente, hubo dos accidentes. Habían muchas personas is heard, but standard Spanish says había.
Hay que + infinitive is a general "you have to": hay que pagar en efectivo. For a specific person, use tener que: tengo que pagar.

Write your own sentence with haber

Next step for haber: the Spanish subjunctive course, free. Not sure which past tense to use? The Spanish past tense course explains preterite vs imperfect with practice. Conjugate any other verb with the free Spanish conjugator, browse all 72 verb pages, or check any text with the free Spanish grammar checker.

Related verbs

Previous: ver · Next: hablar · all verbs

ser conjugation
to be (identity, traits)
tener conjugation
to have
hacer conjugation
to do / to make
poder conjugation
to be able to (can)
querer conjugation
to want / to love
saber conjugation
to know (a fact) / to know how
poner conjugation
to put
ver conjugation
to see / to watch

Use haber in real conversation

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Questions people ask

Is haber irregular in Spanish?

Yes. Haber is irregular in most tenses: the present, preterite, future, conditional and present subjunctive all change form, so it's worth learning by heart.

What is the preterite of haber?

Yo hube, tú hubiste, él/ella hubo, nosotros hubimos, ellos/ustedes hubieron.

How do you conjugate haber in the present?

Yo he, tú has, él/ella ha, nosotros hemos, ellos/ustedes han.

What is the future of haber?

Yo habré, tú habrás, él/ella habrá, nosotros habremos, ellos/ustedes habrán.

What is the present subjunctive of haber?

Que yo haya, que tú hayas, que él/ella haya, que nosotros hayamos, que ellos/ustedes hayan.