The Verb "Haber" in Spanish and How to Use it

Haber is an auxiliary verb, or as my Spanish teachers used to say, a helping verb. It means "To have" but in the sense of having to do something. The form of the other verb that goes with this verb is called the "perfect tense" (examples include eaten, seen, done, been, etc.)

Let me give you some examples of how we use this verb in English. We will focus on the present tense.

1. I have eaten breakfast already.
2. You have heard this song, haven't you?
3. He has been here before.
4. She has danced for a long time.
5. We have kissed already.
6. Have you all seen this movie? (Spain)
7. You all have studied Latin, right? (Everywhere)

Notice that the verb does not mean "to have" as in to have a physical object or possess something. That verb is "tener". Rather, like stated above, haber is a helping verb that goes with other verbs.

Now, the conjugations are as follows:
yo he
tú has
él/ella/usted ha
nosotros(as) hemos
vosotros(as) habéis
ustedes/ellos/ellas han

I will now translate the sentences from above to show the conjugations in the present tense:

1. I have eaten breakfast already. = Yo he comido ya.
2. You have heard this song, haven't you? = ¿Tú has escuchado esta canción, no?
3. He has been here before. = Él ha estado aquí antes.
4. She has danced for a long time. = Ella ha bailado por mucho tiempo.
5. We have kissed already. = Nosotros ya nos hemos besado.
6. Have you all seen this movie? (Spain) = ¿Vosotros habéis visto esta película? (This is actually the only form that is not irregular!
7. You all have studied Latin, right? (Everywhere) ¿Ustedes sí han estudiado el latín, verdad?

Hope you liked this short but sweet lesson on the verb haber

@Vegansilverstack