How to Conjugate Hacer in Spanish — All Tenses with Examples
Hacer — “to do” and “to make” — is one of the most versatile verbs in Spanish. It appears in everyday conversation constantly: ¿Qué haces? (What are you doing?), weather expressions (Hace frío.) (It’s cold.), time expressions (Hace tres años.) (Three years ago.), and countless common phrases.
It’s also packed with irregularities: the present yo is hago, the preterite is hice, the future stem is har-, and the imperative is the ultra-short haz. Let’s work through every tense.
At VerbPal, this is exactly the kind of high-frequency irregular verb we want learners to master early. Knowing hacer well pays off across multiple tenses, fixed expressions, and real conversation — especially when you practice by producing full forms yourself, not just recognizing them.
Present Tense — Presente
Only the yo form is irregular (hago). All other forms are regular:
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hago | Hago ejercicio cada mañana. (I exercise every morning.) |
| tú | haces | ¿Qué haces este fin de semana? (What are you doing this weekend?) |
| él/ella | hace | Hace todo lo posible. (He/she does everything possible.) |
| nosotros | hacemos | Hacemos lo que podemos. (We do what we can.) |
| vosotros | hacéis | ¿Hacéis deporte? (Do you all do sport?) |
| ellos/ellas | hacen | Hacen una pausa. (They’re taking a break.) |
The key pattern here is simple: memorize hago, then treat the rest as regular present-tense forms. In VerbPal, our interactive conjugation charts make that contrast obvious, and our typed drills force you to retrieve hago on demand instead of just glancing at it.
Pro Tip: Learn hago as a chunk first, then say the full set out loud: hago, haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen. One irregular anchor makes the whole tense easier.
Preterite Tense — Pretérito Indefinido
The preterite is completely irregular with stem hic- (and hiz- in the third-person singular to preserve the soft c sound before o):
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hice | Hice todo lo que pude. (I did everything I could.) |
| tú | hiciste | ¿Qué hiciste ayer? (What did you do yesterday?) |
| él/ella | hizo | Hizo un gran trabajo. (He/she did a great job.) |
| nosotros | hicimos | Hicimos una fiesta enorme. (We threw a huge party.) |
| vosotros | hicisteis | ¿Qué hicisteis anoche? (What did you all do last night?) |
| ellos/ellas | hicieron | Hicieron lo correcto. (They did the right thing.) |
Note the spelling: hice (yo), hizo (él/ella) — the c becomes z before o to keep the soft sound. This is one of the most commonly misspelled forms.
Because this tense breaks so far from the infinitive, it needs active recall. At VerbPal, this is where spaced repetition matters: our SM-2 review system keeps resurfacing forms like hice and hizo until they stick long-term instead of disappearing a week later.
Action step: Write three short answers about yesterday using hacer: hice, hicimos, and hizo. If you hesitate on any form, that is the form you need to drill next.
Imperfect Tense — Pretérito Imperfecto
Regular imperfect:
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hacía | Hacía deporte todos los días. (I used to do sport every day.) |
| tú | hacías | ¿Qué hacías los domingos? (What did you do on Sundays?) |
| él/ella | hacía | Hacía mucho calor. (It was very hot.) |
| nosotros | hacíamos | Hacíamos viajes juntos. (We used to travel together.) |
| vosotros | hacíais | ¿Qué hacíais aquí? (What were you all doing here?) |
| ellos/ellas | hacían | Hacían ruido constantemente. (They were constantly making noise.) |
This tense is much friendlier than the preterite. Once you know the regular imperfect endings, hacer behaves exactly as expected. That contrast is useful: one verb can be highly irregular in one tense and fully regular in another.
Action step: Pair the imperfect with repeated past habits. Make two sentences with hacía and hacíamos to describe routines, not one-time events.
Future Tense — Futuro Simple
Uses the irregular stem har-:
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | haré | Haré lo que sea necesario. (I’ll do whatever is necessary.) |
| tú | harás | ¿Qué harás este verano? (What will you do this summer?) |
| él/ella | hará | Hará todo lo que le pidas. (He’ll do everything you ask.) |
| nosotros | haremos | Haremos todo lo posible. (We’ll do everything possible.) |
| vosotros | haréis | ¿Qué haréis cuando lleguéis? (What will you do when you arrive?) |
| ellos/ellas | harán | Harán los cambios necesarios. (They’ll make the necessary changes.) |
The future is easier once you stop expecting hacer- and start thinking in terms of the stem har- plus standard future endings. This same stem also carries into the conditional, so learning it once gives you two tenses.
Pro Tip: Drill the stem separately: har- + é, ás, á, emos, éis, án. If you can produce the stem quickly, the full forms come much faster.
Conditional — Condicional Simple
Same har- stem:
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | haría |
| tú | harías |
| él/ella | haría |
| nosotros | haríamos |
| vosotros | haríais |
| ellos/ellas | harían |
¿Qué harías en mi lugar? (What would you do in my place?)
This is one of the cleanest payoffs in Spanish conjugation: master the irregular future stem once, and the conditional becomes much easier. In our VerbPal drills, we often group future and conditional together for that reason — learners spot the shared stem faster when they have to type both side by side.
Action step: Practice contrast pairs: haré vs. haría, harás vs. harías. That one comparison clears up a lot of confusion.
Present Subjunctive — Presente de Subjuntivo
The yo form haga provides the subjunctive stem:
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | haga |
| tú | hagas |
| él/ella | haga |
| nosotros | hagamos |
| vosotros | hagáis |
| ellos/ellas | hagan |
Quiero que hagas tu cama. (I want you to make your bed.)
Es necesario que lo hagan bien. (It’s necessary that they do it well.)
If you already know the present-tense yo form hago, the subjunctive becomes more logical: remove the -o and build from hag-. This is one reason we teach verbs as connected systems, not isolated tables. VerbPal covers not just core tenses but also irregulars, reflexives, and the subjunctive, so learners can see how one form supports another.
Pro Tip: When you study subjunctive, always ask: what is the yo form in the present? For hacer, that question leads you straight to haga.
Imperative — Imperativo
| Form | Command |
|---|---|
| tú (affirmative) | haz |
| tú (negative) | no hagas |
| usted | haga |
| nosotros | hagamos |
| vosotros | haced |
| ustedes | hagan |
¡Haz tu tarea! (Do your homework!)
Haz lo que quieras. (Do whatever you want.)
The standout form here is haz. It’s short, common, and easy to forget precisely because it doesn’t look like the longer forms around it. Negative commands, meanwhile, return to the subjunctive pattern: no hagas.
Action step: Memorize the contrast as a pair: haz / no hagas. One affirmative and one negative command will cover the pattern you need most often.
Non-Finite Forms
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | hacer |
| Gerund | haciendo |
| Past participle | hecho |
Está haciendo frío. (It’s getting cold.)
Está hecho. (It’s done. / Done deal.)
These forms matter because they appear in everyday structures, not just grammar exercises. Hecho in particular is worth learning early because it shows up in common speech and set phrases.
Pro Tip: Add hecho to your high-priority list. Many learners know the finite forms of hacer but still hesitate when the participle appears.
The Three Special Uses of Hacer
1. Weather Expressions
Hacer is the verb for most weather:
- Hace frío / calor. (It’s cold / hot.)
- Hace sol / viento. (It’s sunny / windy.)
- Hace buen/mal tiempo. (The weather is good / bad.)
2. Time Expressions (“Ago”)
Hacer expresses elapsed time:
- Hace tres años que vivo aquí. (I’ve been living here for three years.)
- Llegué hace una hora. (I arrived an hour ago.)
- ¿Cuánto tiempo hace que esperas? (How long have you been waiting?)
3. Causative Hacer (Make/Have Someone Do Something)
- Hacer + infinitive = to make/have someone do something
- Le hice esperar. (I made him wait.)
- Nos hicieron trabajar el fin de semana. (They made us work the weekend.)
These special uses are why hacer deserves extra attention. It is not just a verb you conjugate on a chart — it is a verb you meet in weather, time, commands, and causative structures. In VerbPal, this is where sentence-based practice matters most: seeing hace frío next to hace tres años helps you stop translating mechanically and start recognizing function from context.
Action step: Learn one example from each category and reuse it until it feels automatic: weather, time ago, and causative hacer.
Full Conjugation Table
Hacer richly rewards the study time you put in. Its versatility — doing, making, weather, time, causatives — means it shows up everywhere. Once the forms are automatic, a huge slice of everyday Spanish suddenly feels natural.