Sentences with Haber in Spanish: Conjugation, Usage, and Examples

Learning a new language can be both exciting and challenging. One of the most important aspects of learning a language is gaining a solid foundation of grammar rules, and in Spanish, one of the most fundamental grammatical concepts is the verb “haber”.

The verb “haber” is used in a variety of ways, including as an auxiliary verb to form compound tenses, as well as to express the existence or presence of something.

In this post, we will explore some common and useful sentences with “haber” in Spanish, and how to use them in everyday conversations.

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Haber for There is and There are

The verb “haber” can be used to show the existence of people or things.

SPA	Hay mucho polvo en la casa.
EN	There is a lot of dust in the house.

SPA	No hay agua caliente en la ducha
EN	here is no hot water in the shower.

SPA	Había un gato en la habitación
EN	There was a cat in the room

SPA	Habían muchas personas en el concierto.
EN	There were many people at the concert.

SPA	Habrá una reunión importante mañana.
EN	There will be an important meeting tomorrow.

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Conjugation of the Verb “Haber”: Present Tense

Here’s a table with the conjugation of the verb “haber” in the present tense:

Pronoun	Present Perfect Tense
yo	he
tú	has
él/ella/usted	ha
nosotros/nosotras	hemos
vosotros/vosotras	habéis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	han

These are some examples of sentences with the verb “haber” and the present perfect tense

SPA	Nosotros hemos hecho nuestro mejor esfuerzo
EN	We have done our best

SPA	Yo he estudiado este tema antes
EN	I have studied this topic before

SPA	Han cerrado la tienda temprano hoy
EN	They have closed the store early today.

SPA	Ha llovido mucho esta semana
EN	It has rained a lot this week

SPA	Hemos comprado un nuevo coche.
EN	We have bought a new car.

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Conjugation of the Verb “Haber”: Past Perfect

Here’s a table with the conjugation of the verb “haber” in the Past Perfect tense:

Pronoun	Past Perfect Tense
yo	había
tú	habías
él/ella/usted	había
nosotros/nosotras	habíamos
vosotros/vosotras	habíais
ellos/ellas/ustedes	habían

These are some examples of sentences with the verb “haber” and the present perfect tense

SPA	Había visto esa película antes
EN	I had seen that movie before

SPA	El profesor había explicado la lección.
EN	The teacher had explained the lesson.

SPA	Había estudiado todo el fin de semana.
EN	I had studied all weekend for the exam.

SPA	We had already eaten dinner when our friends arrived.
EN	Ya habíamos cenado cuando llegaron nuestros amigos.

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Haber and obligation

The verb “haber” can also be used to show obligation when combined with “que” and the infinitive:

SPA	Hay que hacer algo al respecto
EN	We have to do something about it

SPA	Hay que pensar sobre el tema
EN	We must think about the subject