Haber preterite conjugation
Haber in the preterite: hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubisteis, hubieron.
- to have (auxiliary); there is / there are
- irregular
- Participle: habido
- Gerund: habiendo
Preterite pretérito
| yo | hube |
|---|---|
| tú | hubiste |
| él/ella/usted | hubo |
| nosotros | hubimos |
| vosotros | hubisteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieron |
How to use haber in the preterite
The preterite of haber (hube, hubo, hubieron) is mostly used in the impersonal form hubo, "there was" for a single event: an accident, a meeting, a problem. It stays singular even with plural nouns: "Hubo varios problemas." The auxiliary forms (hube terminado) belong to a literary tense you can recognize but rarely need to produce.
Examples
Hubo un apagón en todo el edificio.
There was a blackout in the whole building.
Hubo muchas preguntas después de la presentación.
There were a lot of questions after the presentation.
¿Hubo algún problema con el envío?
Was there any problem with the shipment?
Quick check: haber in the preterite
More haber tenses
- All haber tenses
- Haber present
- Haber imperfect
- Haber future
- Haber conditional
- Haber present subjunctive
- Haber affirmative commands
Other verbs in the preterite
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