haber

to have (auxiliary)

verb ah-BEHR Common

Origin: From Latin habere.

Also means

to exist

Usage Note

Haber is used as the auxiliary to form compound tenses (he comido, habían llegado) and in the impersonal construction hay ('there is/are'). Unlike tener, it never means 'to possess'; as an impersonal it is always singular — never hayen — a common error.

Examples

"Ha llegado tarde."

Natural Translation

He has arrived late.

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