The preterite of haber is used as an impersonal verb to express when there was or there were at a specific moment in the past. For example, “There was a party last night” – “Hubo una fiesta anoche.”

This is an irregular verb in the preterite tense. In this usage, only the third person singular form (hubo) is used, as it functions as an impersonal verb meaning “there was/were.”

Conjugations

Conjugations of Haber (there is/there are (auxiliary)) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of haber indicates past existence or occurrence.

There was/were: Used to indicate existence at a specific past moment, for example Hubo una fiesta ayer (There was a party yesterday), or Hubo problemas con el sistema (There were problems with the system).

To occur/happen: Indicates events that took place, for example Hubo un accidente en la carretera (There was an accident on the highway).

Examples

Examples of Haber in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Hubo mucha gente en la fiesta. (There were many people at the party.)

Hubo un accidente en la carretera. (There was an accident on the highway.)

No hubo tiempo para terminar el proyecto. (There wasn’t time to finish the project.)

Hubo problemas con el internet ayer. (There were problems with the internet yesterday.)

Hubo un terremoto en la región. (There was an earthquake in the region.)

Hubo una gran celebración después del partido. (There was a big celebration after the game.)

¿Hubo algún mensaje para mí? (Were there any messages for me?)

Hubo cambios importantes en la empresa. (There were important changes in the company.)

No hubo nadie en la oficina. (There was nobody in the office.)

Hubo una reunión de emergencia. (There was an emergency meeting.)

Hubo un malentendido entre nosotros. (There was a misunderstanding between us.)

Hubo protestas en el centro de la ciudad. (There were protests in the city center.)

Hubo un apagón durante la tormenta. (There was a blackout during the storm.)

No hubo clases por el mal tiempo. (There were no classes due to bad weather.)

Hubo un festival de música en el parque. (There was a music festival in the park.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Haber (there is/there are (auxiliary)) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.