When do you use Hubo and when do you use Habia?
I was wondering when you would use hubo and habia since both of them mean there were. Or is it interchangeable?
7 Answers
This is the beginning of a long and interesting journey you are on.
In English, there is just one way to refer to the past. The preterite.
However, in Spanish there are at least two. 1) preterite - it happened once and is over, and 2) imperfect - it happened continuously over a period of time and is now over.
For a native English speaker, this is a tough concept to grasp. It's almost as if you have to split your brain in two. Seriously, Spanish speaking people make this determination all of the time and we English speaking people never give a thought to this at all.
Hubo is preterite. Había is imperfect.
I find it easier to memorize the words in short sentences to keep them straight.
For example...the imperfect...
Vivía en Madrid in 2010. I lived in Madrid continuously in 2010, but now have left. Imperfect.
If you want to memorize the various forms of the useful but highly irregular verb, haber, click here for the full conjugation.
Also, you use "había" to say "there were" like you would use "hay" to mean "there are." Habia muchos hombres en la playa. There were many men on the beach.
Haber means have, but as an auxiliary or helping verb, unlike tener, which means have as in to have and to hold.
Había visto cambios profoundo en mi amigo. I have seen profound changes in my friend over time.
Ayer en mi casa hubo una fiesta. Yesterday in my house I had a party. (It was once and done.)
I think I have this right, but I might be in over my head. If you find this confusing, wade over to the shallow end of the pool with me and we'll just enjoy the water.
I tell my students that basically "hubo" is used to refer to some past event.
-Hubo un concierto en la universidad anoche. -Hubo una fiesta de Navidad en mi casa la semana pasada. -Hubo un accidente entre dos carros en la Avenida Borbón hoy.
"Había" is for descriptions.
-Había dos personas tocando el violín durante el concierto. -No había ninguna comida en la fiesta porque nadie la trajo. -Había mucho vidrio en la calle después del accidente.
You are asking about the difference between preterito and past imperfect (hubo and había). Preterito is used for something that has a clear beginning and ending in the past. Imperfect is used in the past for actions with an unclear ending time or the time in the past while another action takes place withing that time, ie: Mientras caminaba por la calle, hubo un choque (while I was walking along the road, there was a crash).
Hubo- something that happened once and was over- Hubo una tormenta anoche
Había- something that was in the past continually, or a description in the past- Siempre había muchos niños en mi casa; o, Había flores por todas partes.
Hubo is preterite. You use hubo when talking about a completed action or something that happened/existed in a definite amount of time.
Había is imperfect. Había is used when what you're talking about happened/existed in an indefinite amount of time, or when it could still be occurring.
Like other preterite and imperfect verbs, there is some overlap between their usages, but those are some general guidelines.
It is used interchangeably, but as in the present tense hubo means an action that finished and it is in the past,whereas había is an action that ended but was still being done in the past.
Hmmm
clear as mud, uh?!
emily8 is right! but remember that habiaN with the N is used 4 plural and habia for singular but hubo can be used for both
