Haber Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson, Exercises, and PDF

Have you had the pleasure of dealing with haber? It’s an extra special verb in Spanish—and definitely one of the more advanced verbs to learn and implement in conversation.

There’s no denying that haber conjugations are challenging. It’s ok, relax! We’re here to help with this comprehensive guide. We’ll go over everything including how to use haber as an auxiliary verb and as an impersonal verb, including the variety of indicative and subjunctive tenses. Then, test your new knowledge with a mini-quiz.

The Spanish Verb Haber

Haber is a super special Spanish verb. Its English equivalent is the auxiliary verb “have.” But wait! It can also mean “there is” or “there are.”

Now that you have a basic understanding of the different contexts in which this verb can be used, let’s take a look at the many haber conjugations. 

Haber Conjugations: Verbals 

Infinitive: haber

Gerund: habiendo

Participle: habido

Examples:

Va a haber cuestiones. — There are going to be issues.

Ha habido un cambio en la temperatura. — There has been a change in temperature.

Antes del pandémico, siempre había habido libertad para viajar. — Before the pandemic, there had always been freedom to travel.

Haber Conjugation as an Auxiliary Verb 

Here’s a handy guide to all the forms of the auxiliary verb haber. Remember to add past participles to the following forms when you use them in conversation.

Indicative Mood

Preterite (Present) Perfect Tense

Imperfect/Pluperfect Tense

Preterite Perfect Tense

Future Perfect Tense

Conditional Perfect Tense

Subjunctive Mood

Preterite (Present) Perfect Tense

Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto – Pluperfect Tense

*Although hubiese and related forms are used occasionally in modern spoken Spanish, it is more commonly seen in literature.

Future Perfect Tense

• yo hubiere
• tú hubieres
• vos hubieres
• él/ella/usted hubiere
• nosotros hubiéremos
• ustedes/ellos/ellas hubieren

Haber Conjugation as an Impersonal Verb 

Haber is commonly used as an impersonal verb, meaning it only occurs in the third person singular form. When haber is used as an impersonal verb, it expresses existence and translates to “there is” or “there are.” 

• Hay mucho viento. – There is a lot of wind.
• Hay dos sillas en la sala. – There are two chairs in the living room.
• Hubo un arco iris después de la tormenta. – There was a rainbow after the storm.
• Hubo muchas pasteles en la fiesta. – There were many cakes at the party.
• Habrá una clase de yoga mañana. – There will be a yoga class tomorrow.
• Habrá muchos desfiles para el día de la independencia. – There will be many parades for Independence Day.

Note: be sure not to use the plural forms of haber to express existence. It is incorrect to say “hubieron muchos accidentes.” The proper verb form is hubo, even if the subject is plural.

As an impersonal verb, haber has 16 forms which fall into either the indicative or subjunctive mood. The following haber conjugations are also known as the “hay conjugation,” since hay appears exclusively here.

Indicative Mood

Impersonal verbs are a bit funky, as they don’t actually have subjects. Hence, none of the verb forms below conjugate for all pronouns (you, he, she, etc.). 

Simple Indicative Tenses

Presente – Present Tense

• hay – there is/are

Pretérito Imperfecto – Imperfect Tense

• había – there was/were

Pretérito Perfecto – Preterite Tense

• hubo – there was/were

Futuro – Future Tense

• habrá – there will be

Condicional – Conditional Tense

• habría – there would be

Compound Tenses

Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto – Preterite (Present) Perfect Tense

• ha habido – there has been

Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto – Pluperfect Tense

• había habido – there had been

Pretérito Anterior – Preterite Perfect Tense

• hubo habido – there had been

Futuro Compuesto – Future Perfect Tense

• habrá habido – there will have been

Condicional Compuesto – Conditional Perfect Tense

• habría habido – there would have been

Subjunctive Mood

In case you need a memory refresher, the Spanish subjunctive is a grammatical mood used when the speaker feels uncertain about the action of the sentence or is expressing a subjective opinion. In other words, it expresses the meaning of the verb as a non-reality. Learn more about when and how to use the subjunctive.

Tiempos Simples – Simple Tenses

Presente – Present Tense

• haya – there is/are

Pretérito Imperfecto – Imperfect Tense

• hubiera/hubiese – there was/were

Futuro – Future Tense

• hubiere (no direct English translation)

Tiempos Compuestos – Compound Tenses

Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto – Preterite (Present) Perfect Tense

• haya habido – there has been

Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto – Pluperfect Tense

• hubiera/hubiese habido – there would have been

Futuro Compuesto – Future Perfect Tense

• hubiere habido – no direct English translation

Haber as an Auxiliary Verb 

Haber also functions as an auxiliary verb. Auxiliary verbs help us to talk about the past, present, and future rather than conveying meaning. There are two hard and fast rules with haber in this format:

1. It appears in all Spanish compound tenses.
2. It’s always preceded by past participles (verbs that end in –ado or –ido, like dormido or caminado).

• He comido demasiado. – I have eaten too much.
• Han completado el proyecto exitosamente. – They have completed the project successfully.
• ¿Has lavado los platos? – Have you washed the dishes?

Haber Conjugation: Exercises

Translate English to Spanish

1. I have read the book.

2. There are many antique airplanes at the museum.

3. I should have gone to the store this morning.

4. Are there a lot of people?

5. Is anybody here?

6. I wanted there to be love for a lifetime.

7. My friend hates that there are so many cell phones in the world.

Translate Spanish to English

8. ¿Había algunos búhos en el bosque? 

9. He perdido mi gato. 

10. Va a haber preguntas. 

11. ¿Hay una piscina aquí? 

12. ¿Hubo leones en el zoológico? 

13. Habría una boda si ella la quisiera. 

14. Habrá una cena deliciosa en la mesa cuando ella vuelva.

Help Yourself

Remember that the key to mastering haber conjugation—as well as every other set of verb conjugations in Spanish—is practice. Homeschool Spanish Academy provides the opportunity to do just that with native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala in a fun and flexible way. Sign up now for a free trial class to continue improving your Spanish grammar and conversation skills with one of our highly qualified teachers!

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Haber Conjugation Answer Key: 

English to Spanish Translation
1. He leído el libro. 
2. Hay muchos aviones antiguos en el museo. 
3. Yo debería haber ido a la tienda esta mañana. 
4. ¿Hay mucha gente? 
5. ¿Hay alguien aquí? 
6. Yo quería que hubiera amor toda la vida. 
7. Mi amigo odia que haya tantos celulares en el mundo.  

Spanish to English Translation
8. Were there any owls in the forest?
9. I have lost my cat.
10. There are going to be questions. 
11. Is there a pool here?
12. Were there any lions at the zoo?
13. There would be a wedding if she wanted one.
14. There will be a delicious dinner on the table when she comes back.

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Michelle Margaret Fajkus

Editor & Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

Michelle Margaret Fajkus is a bilingual writer and longtime yoga teacher. A former advertising copywriter turned bilingual elementary school teacher, she is now a freelance writer, editor and translator. A native Texan, Michelle has Mexican roots and learned Spanish in middle and high school. She has become more fluent thanks to living as an expat in Guatemala. She lives with her family on beautiful Lake Atitlan.

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