CAS: Lesson - El verbo hacer

A student does homework, reading a book while taking notes by lamplight.El verbo hacer

Hacer is an interesting verb that means both to do and to make. It’s also irregular and one of the most common verbs in Spanish. You can use it in many situations including doing your homework, making cakes, talking about the weather, or discussing what you do around the house, to name just a few. 

Exploring hacer

The verb hacer is special because it is one Spanish verb that can be translated as one of two common English verbs. In this way, it’s the opposite of what happens with the verb to be in English, which in Spanish translates as two different verbs: ser and estar. At first, this sounds strange to someone who’s just learning the language, but once you understand the underlying logic of the verb, it all makes sense. 

By now you know the endings to conjugate regular ER verbs (if you need a review, return to module 4: La familia). The verb hacer is an irregular verb which means that it doesn’t follow the most common pattern of conjugations in Spanish for the pronoun yo (English: I). For the rest of the pronouns, the verb hacer does follow the ER pattern for present tense conjugation.

Conjugating hacer

Now that we have the basic rules understood, let's see how hacer is conjugated.

Conjugation of el verbo hacer
Person Singular Plural
1st Person Yo hago Nosotros/Nosotras hacemos
2nd Person (informal) haces Vosotros/Vosotras hacéis
3rd Person / 2nd Person (formal) Él/Ella/Usted hace Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hacen

Note in particular the irregular yo form: hago.

Expressions with hacer

As with many other irregular verbs, there are several commonly used expressions featuring hacer. The following are common and you will find them useful as we continue working in this module:

  • Hacer la tarea - to do homework
  • Hacer la cena - to make dinner
  • Hacer galletas - to make cookies
  • Hacer una tarta - to make a cake

Video Lesson

A notebook and pen with ¡Toma apuntes! written on it.Use this video lesson to review verb HACER conjugation and how to use expressions with verb HACER in a sentence and to ask questions. You may want to watch it twice! You will need tu cuaderno (your notebook), tu lápiz or bolígrafo (your pencil or your pen) and maybe you want to hacer unas galletas or hacer una tarta😊!! Necesitas tomar apuntes (take notes) and complete practice activities. Remember, email your teacher if you have any questions after you complete a lesson. Your instructor is always available to help you and clarify any additional questions you may have before you move forward with your studies.

Video credit: GAVS

A stick note with La actividad de práctica written on it.

Download a printable version of the hacer presentation. Links to an external site.

Practice Activities

Was this video lesson helpful? Can you conjugate the verb hacer and use this verb in a few sentences? Take time to practice. All practice activities have unlimited attempts. Practice as many times as you need. When you complete practice activities, you are reviewing the lessons and preparing yourself to move forward in the course!

Complete the following practice activity. Be sure you do not forget to use correct end punctuation, capitalization, accents, and all diacritical marks in your response or points will be deducted.

NOTE: You are required to use information from this course to complete all practice activities. Additionally, fill-in-the-blank activities can be very particular: if an item is marked incorrect, double check that it wasn't something as minor as an extra space or a capital letter in the wrong place!

Activity 1: Forms and Common Phrases

Activity 2: Using hacer in content

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