Hacer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

hacer — to do — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Hacer means to do and to make, and it powers the weather (hace sol, hace frío), time expressions (hace dos años), and dozens of set phrases: hacer la cama, hacer ejercicio, hacer una pregunta. It is one of the most irregular verbs in the language, with hago, hice and haré. On this page you will find hacer in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with hacer

In the present tense

  • “Yo hago la tarea cada tarde.” — “I do the homework every afternoon.”
  • “Ella hace ejercicio tres veces por semana.” — “She exercises three times a week.”
  • “Nosotros hacemos una fiesta el sábado.” — “We are having a party on Saturday.”
  • “Ellos hacen mucho ruido.” — “They make a lot of noise.”
  • “¿Tú haces la cama por la mañana?” — “Do you make the bed in the morning?”
  • “Hoy hace mucho calor.” — “It is very hot today.”

In the preterite

  • “Ayer yo hice un pastel de chocolate.” — “Yesterday I made a chocolate cake.”
  • “Ella hizo todas las preguntas del examen.” — “She answered all the exam questions.”
  • “Nosotros hicimos un viaje a Sevilla.” — “We made a trip to Seville.”
  • “Ellos hicieron la maleta anoche.” — “They packed the suitcase last night.”
  • “¿Tú hiciste los deberes?” — “Did you do your homework?”
  • “El año pasado hizo mucho frío en enero.” — “Last year it was very cold in January.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “De niño, yo hacía la tarea en casa.” — “As a child, I used to do the homework at home.”
  • “Mañana, yo haré la tarea en casa.” — “Tomorrow, I will do the homework at home.”
  • “Si pudiera, yo haría la tarea en casa.” — “If I could, I would do the homework at home.”
  • “Yo he hecho la tarea en casa.” — “I have done the homework at home.”

Hacer in context

Cada día, yo hago la tarea en casa. Mi amigo también hace la tarea en casa cuando tiene tiempo. Después, yo hago la tarea de nuevo por la tarde. Es una parte normal de mi rutina, y por eso el presente de hacer es la primera forma que conviene aprender.

Ayer, yo hice la tarea en casa. Mi amigo hizo la tarea en casa también, y por la noche yo hice la tarea otra vez. Fue un día normal, pero es justo en días así cuando el pretérito de hacer aparece una y otra vez: una acción terminada, un momento concreto, y la historia sigue.

Common mistakes with hacer

Mistake 1

Wrong: Yo hace la tarea — wrong person.

Right: Yo hago la tarea.

Hacer is a go-verb: the yo form is hago, not hace.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Ayer yo hacé un pastel.

Right: Ayer yo hago un pastel.

The preterite of hacer is hice — the stem changes completely, it is not hacé.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Treating hacer as a regular verb.

Right: Learn the irregular forms: present hago, preterite hice.

hacer is irregular — its present and preterite do not follow the regular endings, so they have to be memorised as a set.

Quiz: hacer in everyday use

Ten questions on hacer across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the yo form of hacer in the present tense?

  • A) hago
  • B) haces
  • C) hace
  • D) hacemos

Answer: A — The yo form in the present tense is hago.

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of hacer in the present tense?

  • A) hago
  • B) haces
  • C) hacemos
  • D) hace

Answer: D — The él/ella/Ud. form in the present tense is hace.

3. What is the yo form of hacer in the preterite?

  • A) hizo
  • B) hicimos
  • C) hice
  • D) hiciste

Answer: C — The yo form in the preterite is hice.

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of hacer in the preterite?

  • A) hizo
  • B) hicieron
  • C) hice
  • D) hiciste

Answer: B — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the preterite is hicieron.

5. What is the yo form of hacer in the imperfect?

  • A) hacía
  • B) hacías
  • C) hacía
  • D) hacíamos

Answer: A — The yo form in the imperfect is hacía.

6. What is the tú form of hacer in the future?

  • A) haré
  • B) hará
  • C) haremos
  • D) harás

Answer: D — The tú form in the future is harás.

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of hacer in the conditional?

  • A) harías
  • B) haríamos
  • C) haría
  • D) haría

Answer: C — The él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional is haría.

8. What is the nosotros/as form of hacer in the present perfect?

  • A) ha hecho
  • B) hemos hecho
  • C) he hecho
  • D) has hecho

Answer: B — The nosotros/as form in the present perfect is hemos hecho.

9. Fill in the blank: “Yo ___ la tarea cada tarde.” (I do the homework every afternoon.)

  • A) hago
  • B) haces
  • C) hace
  • D) hacemos

Answer: A — The sentence needs hago.

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • A) Yo hago la tarea.
  • B) Yo hace la tarea — wrong person.

Answer: A — Hacer is a go-verb: the yo form is hago, not hace.

Frequently asked questions

What does hacer mean?

hacer means “to do” in English. Hacer means to do and to make, and it powers the weather (hace sol, hace frío), time expressions (hace dos años), and dozens of set phrases: hacer la cama, hacer ejercicio, hacer una pregunta. It is one of the most irregular verbs in the language, with hago, hice and haré.

Is hacer regular?

No. hacer is an irregular -er verb (irregular in present, preterite, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative). It is irregular in present, preterite, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, and those forms have to be learnt as a set rather than built by rule. The full conjugation page shows every tense.

When do I use hacer in the past — preterite or imperfect?

Use the preterite — hice, hiciste, hizo — for a finished action at a specific moment, and the imperfect — hacía, hacías, hacía — for what was happening, what used to happen, or the background. The same rule applies to hacer as to every Spanish verb; the tense changes the meaning, not the verb.

How can I practise hacer?

Start with the examples above, say them aloud, then take the quiz on this page. For more practice, use the Spanish Verb Quiz and the Hacer Conjugator, and read the full conjugation page for hacer to see the verb in every tense.

Say it yourself

Reading is not enough — say the verb aloud before you move on. Use the forms from the tables on this page and answer these three prompts as full sentences. First, say a sentence about yourself in the present tense: “Yo hago…”. Second, say a sentence about yesterday in the preterite: “Ayer yo hice…”. Third, say a sentence about tomorrow in the future: “Mañana yo haré…”. If you can answer all three without looking at the tables, the forms are starting to stick. If you hesitate, go back to the examples above, read them aloud twice, and try again. Speaking the forms is what turns a table you have seen into a verb you can use.

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