Master One Verb, Master Spanish: HACER
Hacer means both to do and to make. It is irregular in key tenses, extremely common in daily conversation, and perfect for reviewing Spanish verb tenses and moods in one place.
Why HACER is so important
In English, we often separate ideas into different verbs. Spanish often uses one powerful verb: hacer. That is why learning this verb gives you a shortcut to everyday conversation, grammar review and idiomatic expressions.
English
speak / talk
Spanish: hablar
English
tell / say
Spanish: decir
English
do / make
Spanish: hacer
The shortcut: one question in many tenses
The fastest way to feel the difference between tenses is to see the same verb in real questions.
Present
¿Qué haces?
What do you do? / What are you doing?
Also used to ask about someone's job: What do you do for a living?
Preterite
¿Qué hiciste?
What did you do?
A completed action in the past.
Present Perfect
¿Qué has hecho?
What have you done?
Past action connected to the present.
Imperfect
¿Qué hacías?
What were you doing? / What did you use to do?
Background, habit or ongoing past action.
Near Future
¿Qué vas a hacer?
What are you going to do?
Very common in everyday speech.
Conditional
¿Qué harías?
What would you do?
Hypothetical situations and advice.
HACER in daily Spanish
These short sentences are extremely common in films, messages and daily conversation.
Siempre hago mis deberes.
I always do my homework.
Hago lo que puedo.
I do what I can. / I’m doing my best.
No hice nada especial.
I didn’t do anything special.
Haré todo lo posible.
I will do everything possible. / I’ll do my best.
HACE for weather
In Spanish, many weather expressions use hace.
- Hace frío. It is cold.
- Hace calor. It is hot.
- Hace viento. It is windy.
- Hace buen tiempo. The weather is nice.
HACE for time
Use hace to say how long ago something happened.
- Lo conocí hace dos años. I met him two years ago.
- Hace mucho tiempo que no nos vemos. It’s been a long time since we saw each other.
- Hace una semana que estudio español. I have been studying Spanish for a week.
- ¿Hace cuánto vives aquí? How long have you lived here?
HACER = make someone do or feel something
English uses make. Spanish often uses hacer: hacer + infinitive or hacer + adjective.
No me hagas reír.
Don’t make me laugh.
No me hagas enojar.
Don’t make me angry. Common in Latin America.
Me hace feliz.
It makes me happy.
Commands with HACER
The positive tú command is irregular: haz.
- ¡Hazme caso! Listen to me! / Pay attention to me!
- ¡Haz tu cama! Make your bed!
- Haz lo que debes hacer. Do what you must do.
- ¡No me hagas caso! Don’t listen to me! / Ignore me!
Indicative vs Subjunctive
This pair is excellent for understanding the difference between certainty and possibility.
Haz lo que puedes hacer.
Do what you can do. Indicative: known ability or specific reality.
Haz lo que puedas hacer.
Do whatever you can. Subjunctive: whatever is possible in the situation.
Future and Conditional: the irregular root har-
Both the future and the conditional use the same irregular root: har-. If you know haré and haría, you already understand a major pattern.
Future
Haré todo lo posible.
I will do everything possible. / I’ll do my best.
Conditional
¿Qué harías tú en mi lugar?
What would you do in my place?
HACER dictionary: daily expressions you must know
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hacer falta | to be necessary / to need | No hace falta. — There’s no need. |
| hacer ejercicio | to exercise | Hago ejercicio por la mañana. |
| hacer cola | to wait in line | Tuvimos que hacer cola. |
| hacer caso | to pay attention / listen | No me hiciste caso. |
| hacer la cama | to make the bed | Haz la cama antes de salir. |
| hacer daño | to hurt / damage | El humo me hace daño. |
| hacer un viaje | to take a trip | Queremos hacer un viaje a Perú. |
| hacer la tarea | to do homework | Estoy haciendo la tarea. |
| hacer las maletas | to pack bags | Tengo que hacer las maletas. |
| hacer una pregunta | to ask a question | ¿Te puedo hacer una pregunta? |
| hacer fotos | to take photos | Nos gusta hacer fotos. |
| hacer deporte | to do sports | Hago deporte tres veces por semana. |
| hacer escala | to have a layover | El vuelo hace escala en Madrid. |
| hacer las paces | to make peace / make up | Es hora de hacer las paces. |
| hacer juego | to match | La camisa hace juego con tus zapatos. |
| hacer la vista gorda | to turn a blind eye | El jefe hizo la vista gorda. |
Participles: haciendo and hecho
Present participle
haciendo
doing / making
Past participle
hecho
done / made
Idioms with hecho
- Hecho a mano. Handmade.
- Dicho y hecho. No sooner said than done.
- A lo hecho, pecho. What is done is done; face the consequences.
Music practice: Jennifer Lopez — “¿Qué hiciste?”
The question ¿Qué hiciste? uses the irregular preterite form hiciste. The Jennifer Lopez song can help you remember this form through listening practice.
Use the song title as a memory hook: hacer → hiciste.
HACER conjugation cheat sheet
The most important irregular forms are highlighted in bold.
| Pronoun | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Conditional | Future |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hago | hice | hacía | haría | haré |
| tú | haces | hiciste | hacías | harías | harás |
| él/ella/Ud. | hace | hizo | hacía | haría | hará |
| nosotros | hacemos | hicimos | hacíamos | haríamos | haremos |
| vosotros | hacéis | hicisteis | hacíais | haríais | haréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hacen | hicieron | hacían | harían | harán |
Quick practice: answer these with HACER
What do you like to do?
What are you going to do this weekend?
What would you do in my place?
What have you done today?