I don't understand the difference between hubo and habia. They seem to mean the same thing. What is the difference between them and when do you use one as opposed to the other.
In Spanish we use hubo to say there was or there were. Read and listen to these examples:
In Spanish, you use hubo whether it is followed by one item or many, unlike in English.
GRAMMAR: Both Hay and Hubo are impersonal forms that come from the third person of the verb haber. Hubo is in El Pretérito Indefinido, literally meaning it had.
Haber belongs to a group of verbs that have an irregular stem in El Pretérito Indefinido but share the same set of endings. To learn more about this have a look at Irregulares en Indefinido/mismas terminaciones.
See also Using había to say there was / there were
Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
Q&A Forum 3 questions, 8 answers
InmaKwiziq team member
Hola Bill,
Here is a lesson that explains the difference between hubo and había. I hope it helps.
Hubo vs Había
Saludos
Inma
Bill asked:View original
Hubo vs Habia
I don't understand the difference between hubo and habia. They seem to mean the same thing. What is the difference between them and when do you use one as opposed to the other.
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TonyaKwiziq community member
Glitch that sends me to French Dashboard instead of Kwiz results.
I can not see my quiz results because every time I click on "Check out Your Results for this Quiz" I get redirected to the French Dashboard instead. This glitch also occurs after I take any other quiz, but randomly. Please help!
Asked 1 year ago
ShuiKwiziq team member
Hola Tonya
I'm asking one of our team to contact you by email to follow up on this.
Saludos
Shui
Tonya asked:View original
Glitch that sends me to French Dashboard instead of Kwiz results.
I can not see my quiz results because every time I click on "Check out Your Results for this Quiz" I get redirected to the French Dashboard instead. This glitch also occurs after I take any other quiz, but randomly. Please help!
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CatrionaKwiziq community member
Distinguishing between hubo and había
There is no explanation either in hubo or había as to how to decide when to use which one. The examples given could almost be interchangeable, at least to my novice eye. (Other than that, this program is absolutely amazing! Hats off to everyone involved!)
Asked 2 years ago
InmaKwiziq team member
Hola Catriona
These two lessons about Había and Hubo are focused on the "form" more than specific uses, that's why we have used quite neutral sentences. As a general rule we would use "había" (not hubo) when we are describing a scene in the past or for a repeated action in the past, whereas we will use "hubo" (not había) for more punctual actions also in the past. You will soon have some more lessons about specific uses for the imperfect and preterite tenses.
Thanks for your lovely comments : ))
CatrionaKwiziq community member
Just ran into this again, and got it wrong again, even after your explanation. I put hubo instead of hacía for "There was a meeting at four." One of the examples for hubo is "There were many people at the demonstration." I honestly cannot see the difference between these two sentences in this regard.
LaneKwiziq community member
I found this explanation and it makes a bit more sense:
http://preguntolandia.blogspot.com/2010/05/hubo-vs-habia.html
InmaKwiziq team member
Hola Catriona
We have a specific lesson on the difference between hubo and había where we explain when to use one or the other, Había vs Hubo
Saludos
Inma
InmaKwiziq team member
Hola Jessica
This lesson is specific for the difference between hubo and había. I hope this clarifies it for you.
Había vs Hubo (Imperfect vs Preterite)
Saludos
Inma
Catriona asked:View original
Distinguishing between hubo and había
There is no explanation either in hubo or había as to how to decide when to use which one. The examples given could almost be interchangeable, at least to my novice eye. (Other than that, this program is absolutely amazing! Hats off to everyone involved!)
Don't have an account yet? Join today
