Any Tips On How I Should Learn Haber?

Question

I know the conjugations, but its hard for me to work it out in my head, you know? Any tips?

And vocabulary, how should I learn that, too ?

Answer 1

Haber is what is called a "helping verb." This means that it doesn't usually stand alone, but goes with another verb. In the perfect tenses, haber is added to a past participle. Think of it as taking the place of a word in English.

For example: If you say - "I had gone to that store before," had "helps" gone to get across what you mean. The sentence would have a different meaning without "had". In Spanish, you would say, "He ido a la tienda antes." The "he" does the same as the English "had". These imperfect tenses are used to indicate a past event and the time is stated as before. So, you probably went there only once.

Now, let's take había. Example: "Había estado a la tienda." This is the imperfect form of "haber." It differs from the perfect form as to when it is used. The sentence basically means the same thing as the other sentence, but había would mean more, "I used to go to the store." In other words, it is a habitual action with no time frame for when it happened.

I would suggest that now that you know the conjugations, read up on the indicative tenses of the verb 1st. Explanations of these tenses will tell you when to use each one and it will make more sense.

For vocabulary, I like to make up sentences with 10 new words a day. I repeat them constantly until I have learned the word. Then in several days, I add a new 10 words but brush up on the ones I learned before.

I hope this helps you. Good luck!

Answer 2

One thing that is helping me learn these is to go to the "Learn" section on the blue toolbar and go to Grammar, then Verbs. In your conjugation tool you will find the proper names of the different names and forms of haber + verb. Read the lessons in order, then take the grammar quiz on each. The lessons help you know what the verbs translate as in English.

A 501 verb book should have a great section on 'haber' that will help you understand the meaning and use better.

kdrinning's suggestion of verbal practice is excellent. When you are learning from websites and books, the verbal part usually lags behind.

Good luck.