1.3.1 Modal verb haber and the perfect participle
In chapter 7.1 we had a glance at the English version of compound tenses with the modal verb to have and the perfect participle. Now have a look at the Spanish version of the same thing. There is the modal verb haber and the perfect participle. As usually in Spanish the formation of the participle depends on the ending of the infinitive verb (-ar, -er or -ir). With the perfect participle there are only a few irregular verbs. The regular verbs are formed as follows:
Formation of the perfect participle in verbs with ending -ar
| infinitive | stem | ending | perfect participle |
| tomar (to take) | tom- | -ado | tomado (taken) |
| hablar (to speak) | habl- | -ado | hablado (spoken) |
| comprar (to buy) | compr- | -ado | comprado (bought) |
Formation of the perfect participle in verbs with ending -er
| infinitive | stem | ending | perfect participle |
| comer (to eat) | com- | -ido | comido (eaten) |
| vender (to sell) | vend- | -ido | comido (eaten) |
| poder (to can) | pod- | -ido | comido (eaten) |
Formation of the perfect participle in verbs with ending -ir
| infinitive | stem | ending | perfect participle |
| recibir (to receive) | recib- | -ido | recibido (received) |
| conducir (to steer) | conduc- | -ido | conducido (steered) |
| venir (to come) | ven- | -ido | venido (come) |
Some verbs are irregular like poner, ver, ser and decir.
Irregular perfect participle
| poner (to put) | puesto | put |
| decir (to say, to tell) | dicho | said, told |
| ver (to see) | visto | seen |
| ser (to be) | sido | been |
Conjugation of haber
| presente | pretérito imperfecto | pretérito indefinido |
| yo he | yo había | yo hube |
| tú has | tú habías | tú hubiste |
| él ha | él había | él hubo |
| nosotros hemos | nosotros habíamos | nosotros hubimos |
| vosotros habéis | vosotros habíais | vosotros hubistéis |
| ellos han | ellos habían | ellos hubieron |
Unfortunately the verb haber itself is quite a irregular one. It changes the stem quite often. Anyway, since it is used so often there is nothing better to do than to learn the forms. Because:
Compound tenses are formed with the respective form of haber and the perfect participle
haber in presente + perfect participle forms pretérito perfecto (he comido)
haber in pretérito imperfecto + perfect participle forms pretérito plusquamperfecto (había comido)
haber in pretérito indefinido + perfect participle forms pretérito anterior (hube comido)
haber in pretérito imperfecto + perfect participle forms pretérito plusquamperfecto (había comido)
haber in pretérito indefinido + perfect participle forms pretérito anterior (hube comido)
1.3.2 haber de (to have to)
There is another possibility to express to have to / to must => haber de. When we think about it it's not so unusual since haber had been a full verb for to have to. Another question is what is said about a culture that has so many different forms of to have to (meaning more or less having no other choice than to do something, even if you do not want to). However, this is a philosophical question not necessarily a grammatical.
Example
He de hacerlo, si me guste o no.
= I have to do it whether I like it or not.
Él ha de decirselo.
= He has to tell it to her.
= I have to do it whether I like it or not.
Él ha de decirselo.
= He has to tell it to her.
1.3.3 hay que (impersonal to have to)
If the subject of the sentence is not defined - impersonal - the Spanish uses the passive. In English it's then the impersonal you or one:
You have to be quite sure before you get married.
One has to be quite sure before getting married.
One has to be quite sure before getting married.
To express these kind of general clauses the Spanish uses hay que. Se tiene que could be used as well, but our Google-Test showed the following results:
Google-Test
Se tiene que gives 4,030 hits.
Hay que gives 394,000 hits.
Hay que gives 394,000 hits.
Example
Si hace calor, hay que ir a la piscina.
= If it's hot one has to go to the swimming pool.
Hay que hacer lo que dice, porque si no se pone colérico.
= You have to / one has to do what he says, because if not, he gets choleric.
Este libro, hay que leerlo cuidadosamente, es bastante difícil.
= This book is to be read carefully it's quite difficult.
Hay que ir a su casa para saber como está.
= You have to go to his house to know how he is doing.
= If it's hot one has to go to the swimming pool.
Hay que hacer lo que dice, porque si no se pone colérico.
= You have to / one has to do what he says, because if not, he gets choleric.
Este libro, hay que leerlo cuidadosamente, es bastante difícil.
= This book is to be read carefully it's quite difficult.
Hay que ir a su casa para saber como está.
= You have to go to his house to know how he is doing.
Hay que is only used in the third person singular. It's a left over of the time when haber was a full verb and had the meaning of to have to. It can be also used in past tense.
Example
Había que trabajar mucho. = One had to work a lot.
Hubo que decirselo, pero nadie se lo quería decir. = One had to tell him, but nobody wanted to tell him.
Habrá que decirle que lo deje. = One will have to tell him that he lets it be.
Hubo que decirselo, pero nadie se lo quería decir. = One had to tell him, but nobody wanted to tell him.
Habrá que decirle que lo deje. = One will have to tell him that he lets it be.
1.3.4 no hay que with impersonal subject
Is the subject impersonal and passive voice would be used then the Spanish take the construction we had seen in the past sublesson.
Example
No hay que darle dinero. = There is no need to give him money.
No hay que explicarle tantas cosas. = No need to explain so much.
No hay que explicarle tantas cosas. = No need to explain so much.