Irregular verbs haber, ser and estar and how to use them

This is the shape of present of the verb haber.

In addition to the present conjugation of the verb to have as an assistant is also in other indicative and subjunctive tenses. They are:

INDICATIVE

• Perfect tense.
• Pluperfect past tense
• Perfect future
• Conditional compound

SUBJUNCTIVE

• Perfect tense
• Pluperfect past tense

You can have a look at how to conjugate the verb haber in these tenses in the photos above.

Hay: Expression of existence

On the other hand, the verb haber is also used to express existence.

In case the verb is impersonal, so it is only has one form.

In the present tense we would say 'hay'.

For example: Hay uvas en la nevera.

We do not say: Yo hay uvas en la nevera.

This 'yo' would be incorrect because there is no subject of these types of sentences.

Put simply, no one is doing the action.

The grapes are just in the fridge, nobody does anything. 

Do you understand what I mean?

Here's a few more examples to make things clear examples you: 

• There is un niño en el parque.
• In Valencia you'll find muchas palmeras.
• There is cuatro platos en la mesa.

All of these examples are in the present tense. Now let's take a look at how to use haber as a verb of existence in in some of other tenses and moods:

In the indicative mood we have the following:

Presente - HAY

Pretérito perfecto – HA HABIDO

Pretérito indefinido – HUBO

Pretérito imperfecto – HABÍA

Pretérito pluscuamperfecto – Había habido

Futuro simple – HABRÁ

Futuro perfecto – Habrá habido

Condicional simple – Habría

Condicional compuesto – Habría habido

In the subjunctive mood we have:

Presente - HAYA

Pretérito perfecto– HAYA HABIDO

Pretérito imperfecto – HUBIERA/HUBIESE

Pretérito pluscuamperfecto – Hubiera/hubiese habido

Those examples that we have highlighted in bold and capitalized are the most frequently used. 

Shall we show you a few examples? 

Come on! I'm feeling generous. 😉

HA HABIDO

Esta semana ha habido dos accidentes en mi calle. Por suerte nadie ha salido herido.

HUBO

Ayer por la noche hubo una gran tormenta.

HABÍA

En mi colegio había muchos profesores.

HAYA

Me molesta que haya tantos trastos en mi casa.

Common mistakes when using 'habían'

Now let's talk about a very common mistake that people make when conjugating haber to talk about existence. 

People often use the plural conjugation of the verb when talking about existence in the past tense, especially in the pretérito imperfecto: habían.

Let's take a look at some examples to make sure everything is clear:

For example: 

• Ayer en el metro había muchas personas.
• Ayer en el metro habían muchas personas.

Which of the two examples is wrong?

Go on have a guess. I'll give you a moment to think about it.

Have you got your answer?

The second sentence is wrong because in this example haber is conjugated in the plural.

Remember that, when talking about existence, haber is impersonal. Meaning, it has no subject and therefore no plural form.

• Ayer en el metro había muchas personas. ✅
• Ayer en el metro habían muchas personas. ❌

This is a very common mistake when using 'había'. However using the plural form of the verb haber on other tenses would also verb haber.

For example:

• Ayer hubo diferentes eventos en la plaza. ✅
• Ayer hubieron diferentes eventos en la plaza. ❌
• Mañana habrá varios exámenes en la universidad. ✅
• Mañana habrán varios exámenes en la universidad. ❌

Common mistakes when using hay + artículo determinado

Another very common mistake when using the verb haber for existence , is to put it next to definite articles: hay el, hay la, hay los, hay las.

The following examples ar incorrect:

• There is la pelota en el armario. ❌
• Había el gato en la terraza. ❌
• Habrá the centros comerciales en las afueras. ❌
• There is el agua en la botella. ❌

Instead, you should use indefinite articles , numbers , or just a noun , to ensure the sentence makes sense.  

We'll show you a few examples that you can use:

Indefinite articles: un, una, unos, unas.

• There is una pelota en el armario. ✅😁

Quantifiers : mucho/a/os/as, bastante/s, poco/a/os/as, suficiente, demasiado/a, varios/as…

• Había many gatos en la terraza. ✅🐈

Numbers: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco…

• Habrá cuatro centros comerciales en las afueras. ✅👏

nouns:

• There is agua en la botella. ✅👍

How to use the verb estar

We have already seen how to use and conjugate the verb haber. Now lets take a look at estar.

If you have already read our article regarding the  verbs ser and estar, you will already be familiar with the verb estar and you can use this section of the article as revision.

It's always helpful to revise what we have learned, wouldn't you agree?

Si you haven't read the article that's great, because we are about to explain some of the most important uses of the verb estar .

Location

We can express the location of people, places, things, animals… practically anything. 

The most frequently used structure is ‘estar + en’.

For example:

• Jaime está en la playa.

But we can also use other positions with the adverbs of place: inside, outside, next to, in front of, behind, on top of, under…

For example:

• El ordenador está dentro de la mochila.
• La silla estaba detrás de la mesa.
• El cuadro estará encima del sofá.

Moods

We can talk about how we feel with the verb 'estar + adjetivos’:

For example:

A. ¿Cómo estás?

B. Hoy estoy feliz y emocionado por mi ascenso en el trabajo.

There are many adjectives that express states of mind: sad, happy, tired, bored, calm, nervous...

We have an article dedicated to emotions and moods.

If you want to know more, click on the link. 😊 

Everything related to emotions seems very interesting to me. 

Does the same thing happen to you?

Actions in progress: Estar + gerund

¿Qué están haciendo nuestros alumnos en la foto?

We can say that están brindando.

We can also say that están riendo y tomando una bebida.

Or that... están descansando in our cafeteria before the next class starts.

We can use estar + gerundio to talk about actions in process (actions that aren't yet finished, actions that are continuing) or to describe actions happening in an image, like we have just done.

Do you know how to form gerund?

Well you're in luck because it's easy peasy!

All you need to do is change the ending of the verbs that end in –AR for –ANDO, and the verbs that end in -ER or -IR for -IENDO.

Examples of estar + gerund:

• Yo estoy HABLANDO
• Tú estás COMIENDO
• Él/ella/usted está PASEANDO
• Nosotros/as estamos VIENDO
• Vosotros/as estáis JUGANDO
• Ellos/as/ustedes están ESCRIBIENDO

Remember that just like with the participle , the gerund whether they are an impersonal form of the verb. 

Meaning, it WILL NOT change according to the subject/person, it will always remain the same.

Estar + participio

We also use estar + participio. 😀

In this case we're talking about results of an action.

Normally when we do an action there is a result to this action.

For example:

• Yo cierro la puerta. – La puerta está cerrada.
• El bebé se ha dormido. – El bebé está dormido.
• José ha apagado la luz. – La luz está apagada.

Want to know how participles are formed?

Regarding regular participles, all you need to do is switch –ARto –ADO and –ER/IR to -IDO .

Evaluating: Está bien/Está mal

Evaluation is a great way of expressing our opinion. 

And it'll make you Spanish sound a lot more interesting. 😉

It is very common to use the words ‘bien’ and ‘mal’.

We use it with the infinitive for general impersonal phrases:

For example: 

• Está bien hacer deporte. (Doing sport is good for you).
• Está mal llegar tarde a una cita. (Arriving late to an appointment is bad).

We also can use it with the subjunctive when there is a subject/person .

For example: 

• Está bien que tú conozcas gente nueva si te sientes solo.
• Está mal que Marcos grite a su madre.

Temporary Job 

A very simple and common use of the verb estar is to talk about temporary jobs are dealt with first, followed by ‘estar + de’.

We use this to talk about temporary job, that we know that we will only be doing for a short amount of time, not the rest of our lives.

For example:

• Este verano estoy de camarero para pagarme los estudios de la universidad.
• Ahora estoy de taxista, pero no es el trabajo de mi vida.

How to use the verb ser  

Let's move onto the uses of stable, long term jobs or careers!

The uses we are going to take a look at are very simple, but frequently used in the Spanish language.

So sit back and relax but pay attention. 😉

Nationality and Origin 

We use ‘ser de’ to state the nationality or origin of a person.

For example:

• Soy de España. Soy de Valencia.

We can also use this structure to describe the origin of a thing or an animal:

For example:

• Estas zapatillas son de la tienda de al lado de mi casa.
• Su gata era de la calle.

Physical and Character Description 

There are a few tricky aspects to mention when talking about the physical appearance or character We use the verb ser.

For example:

• Sonia es alta y amable.
• De pequeño, Luis era bajito y muy divertido.

Shall we play a game? Do you know some Spanish adjectives used to describe character?

There are so many!

Venga, empiezo yo:

Agradable, antipático, inteligente, romántico, paciente, tranquila…wait…these are so easy!

Write down 3 adjectives used to describe character of a higher level. 

Go on... surprise me. 😉

Of course we can also think of adjectives to describe animals or objects.

Although, with objects we can only describe their physical appearance. 

Even nowadays, objects remain inanimate.

Or so we thought... ????

Job Titles

As we saw before, we know that we can useestar de we can talk about temporary job roles.

To talk about stable, long term jobs or careers we use the verb ser .  

For example:

• Pedro es informático.
• Marta y Juan son policías.
• Tú serás analista de datos.

Time

If we want asking what time it is, we use the verb "ser" in the third person singular (es).

To answer the question, we will use the third person plural (son) Because numbers are plural. Apart from 1 o'clock (la una) , which is answeredin singular (es).

For example:

A. ¿Qué hora es?

B. Son las cuatro y media de la tarde. (16.30)

A. ¿Qué hora es?

B. Es la una de la mañana. (01.00)

Materials 

A descriptive element of the objects is what material they are made from: wood, plastic, iron, glass…

We can talk about this by using the structure ‘ser de’.

For example:

• Mi antigua casa era de ladrillo. (My old house was made from brick).
• Este bolígrafo es de plástico.
• Su camiseta es de lana.

Location of an Event

Do you remember how with the verb estar we could talk about locations of people, places, animals and things?

Well, we can also use the verb ser for location. However, only when talking about events.

So, what is an event?

It is an "important" event that many people attend. 

Below, find some examples to help you understand a little better:

• La boda fue en la iglesia de su pueblo.
• El concierto será en la plaza del ayuntamiento.
• El examen es en el aula 6.
• La reunión directiva ha sido en el hotel que está al lado de la empresa.

Putting ser, estar and haber into practice 

What a brilliant blog post, I'm so pleased with it.

I really hope it will help you a lot.

The verbs haber, ser and estar are sooooo important with the Spanish language.

Now… ¿How about we do some exercises alongside the verbs verbs haber, ser and estar? 

Convince me that you are a ser, estar, haber expert! 😁

Remember that at the end of each exercise you can check the answers.

¡Vamos allá!

Beginners Exercises (Level A)

Complete the sentences with ser, estar or haber. They can be in present or past perfect tense:

• Esta mañana __________ un accidente en la autopista entre dos coches.

• Hoy yo ____________ bastante cansado porque no he dormido bien.

• ¿De dónde ______________ ella? Tiene un acento irreconocible.

• Este verano ____________ de camionero pero ya lo he dejado y ahora voy a estudiar en la universidad.

• ¿Puedes comprobar si __________ alguien en el aula 5? Llevo toda la mañana buscando a mis alumnos y no los encuentro.

• Paco ___________ toda su vida bombero. No ha trabajado de otra cosa.

• Esta mañana tú no has cerrado la puerta bien y yo no me he dado cuenta. Por eso la puerta _____________ abierta hasta que has vuelto.

Answers

1. ha habido
2. estoy
3. es
4. he estado
5. you'll find
6. ha sido
7. ha estado

Intermediate exercises (Level B)

Complete the sentences with ser, estar or haber. They can be in all past indicative tenses or on an present subjunctive:

• Yo antes __________ muy tímido, pero desde que soy profesor ya no tengo tanta vergüenza.

• ¿No has visto las llaves? Ayer ____________ en la mesa.

• Ayer ______________ una celebración en el puerto con música y mucha gente bailando.

• ¿Qué hora ____________ cuándo Julio llegó a casa?

• Me gusta que tú __________ tan tranquila, me tramites paz.

• __________ muy bien que tengas aficiones, es necesario desconectar y hacer algo que nos guste.

• Nunca __________ en un barco hasta que fui de crucero por el mediterráneo.

Answers

1. was
2. estaban
3. hubo
4. was
5. seas
6. It's
7. había estado

Advanced Exerecises (Level C)

Complete the sentences with ser, estar or haber. They can be in all past indicative and subjunctive, as well as sentence connectors:

• Me gustó que ayer tú __________ puntual y llegaras antes que yo a la cena.

• ¿Dónde está Aitor? No creo que ____________ toda la tarde en su casa, ¿verdad?

• Si ______________ tenido más dinero, habría hecho más viajes este año.

• ¿Vosotros nunca ____________ hecho escalada? Se genera mucha adrenalina.

• Aunque ellos no __________ preparados, tienen que hacerlo.

• Como Isabel __________ ayer tan arrogante conmigo, hoy no le pienso hablar.

• Si __________ en Londres, ¿Qué es lo primero que harías? 
•  

Answers

1. fueras
2. haya estado
3. hubiera
4. hábeis
5. estén
6. fue
7. estuvieras

¿Cómo ha ido?

Want to know more about the verbs haber, ser and estar?

En Hispania, escuela de españolwe offer face-to-face Spanish courses where you can practice using our new favourite verbs with the assistance of qualified teachers.

Not able to move to Spain? 

No problem! We also offer online Spanish courses so you can study from home.

¡Hasta pronto!

Article written by Carlos Martínez for Hispania, escuela de español