Writing and speaking correctly is very important, not only because in this way we demonstrate our linguistic abilities, but also because it is essential to establish good communication, which is why we studied for so many years.
However, sometimes we make some mistakes either because we doubt how a certain word is written, or in the case of verbs because we conjugate or use them incorrectly. This is the case with the verb to have, and in its use, many mistakes are made.
In this case, we are going to explain to you when había and habán are used correctly and do not make mistakes in your texts or conversations.
Use of the verb to have as an impersonal verb
When we use the verb to have in an impersonal way indicating the presence or existence of people or things, then we will use the verb in the third person singular.
In this type of expression and sentence, there is no subject, but sometimes the direct object is confused with the subject and the verb to have is conjugated in the same person who is believed to be the subject, which is all a mistake. Remember, even though the direct object is plural, the verb remains impersonal (had).
The structure of impersonal sentences is usually verb to have + noun (singular or plural)
examples
- There were several children in the church this morning. INCORRECT
- There were several children in the church this morning. CORRECT
- There were many people at the meeting. INCORRECT
- There were many people at the meeting. CORRECT
- A trick you can use to remember whether to use the había or había form is to take the sentence to the present and see which verb fits better.
- Here’s an example:
- there were many people at home
- In the present the same sentence would be: There are many people at home
If we hesitate with the sentence: There were many people at home and we put it in the present: There are many people at home, so that we quickly see that it is not right because of how strange it is, in this way we will use “había” in the original sentence. If you see that n doesn’t fit in hayn, then we won’t use it in urban either.
Use of the verb to have as auxiliary
In Spanish, the verb to have is the most used and important auxiliary verb there is. The use of the auxiliary verb is important to form the compound tenses of other verbs of the different conjugations. Therefore, it will be the verb to have that indicates the person and the number.
In this case, we can use the written form whenever we are talking about the third person plural.
The verbal formation is composed of the verb to have conjugated + main verb in participle.
- These are some examples where you can see the use of urban:
- They played soccer in college.
- They had discussed the wedding menu but had disagreed.
- Maria and Ana had skated on the lake during the winter before it melted.
- In summary, there was and they will be well written depending on the use that is being given to it. If the verb haber is used as an auxiliary verb then we can conjugate it and use habían when we talk about the third person plural, instead, we will use había for impersonal sentences, it does not matter if the noun that follows it is in the plural, the form is maintained ( there was).
- With these clarifications, surely now you know when había and habán are used correctly according to the function of the verb to have in the sentence in question. Use the verb to have correctly and do not make more grammatical mistakes in your expressions that make you look bad.