Present Tense: The One You Need Yesterday

Use the present tense for habits, routines, and things happening now. This is the form you need for everyday survival: homework, food, chores, weather, and pretending you love grammar.

Subject	Hacer Form	English Meaning	Example Sentence
yo	hago	I do / I make	Hago la tarea después de cenar. I do my homework after dinner.
tú	haces	you do / you make	Tú haces muy buen café. You make really good coffee.
él / ella / usted	hace	he / she does, you do	Ella hace yoga por la mañana. She does yoga in the morning.
nosotros	hacemos	we do / we make	Hacemos la cena juntos. We make dinner together.
ustedes / ellos / ellas	hacen	you all / they do, make	Ellos hacen mucho ruido. They make a lot of noise.

What About Vosotros?

Vosotros hacéis means you all do / make. It is common in Spain, but not used in normal Mexican Spanish. You still might see it in charts, so now it will not jump out and bite you.

Preterite: What You Did Yesterday

Use the preterite for completed actions in the past. This tense is especially important because hacer changes a lot here.

Subject	Hacer Form	English Meaning	Example Sentence
yo	hice	I did / I made	Hice la comida anoche. I made dinner last night.
tú	hiciste	you did / you made	¿Hiciste la tarea? Did you do the homework?
él / ella / usted	hizo	he / she did, you did	Mi mamá hizo un pastel. My mom made a cake.
nosotros	hicimos	we did / we made	Hicimos una lista. We made a list.
ustedes / ellos / ellas	hicieron	you all / they did, made	Ellos hicieron un viaje corto. They took a short trip.

Watch this one: it is hizo, not hico. Spanish is not here to reward guessing.

Other Key Tenses You Will See All The Time

Tense	Main Pattern	English Meaning	Example Sentence
Imperfect	hacía, hacías, hacía, hacíamos, hacían	used to do / was doing	Cuando era niño, hacía deporte todos los días. When I was a kid, I used to play sports every day.
Future	haré, harás, hará, haremos, harán	will do / will make	Mañana haré la limpieza. Tomorrow I will do the cleaning.
Conditional	haría, harías, haría, haríamos, harían	would do / would make	Yo haría más ejercicio, pero tengo sueño. I would work out more, but I am sleepy.
Present Subjunctive	haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagan	that I do / make	Quiero que hagas tu cama. I want you to make your bed.
Imperfect Subjunctive	hiciera / hiciese forms	if I did / made, that I did / made	Si yo hiciera más tiempo, estudiaría más. If I had more time, I would study more.
Gerund	haciendo	doing / making	Estoy haciendo la cena. I am making dinner.
Past Participle	hecho	done / made	Ya hemos hecho el trabajo. We have already done the work.

Commands With Hacer

Command	Form	English Meaning	Example Sentence
tú affirmative	haz	do / make	Haz la tarea ahora. Do the homework now.
tú negative	no hagas	do not do / make	No hagas ruido. Do not make noise.
usted	haga	do / make	Haga una lista, por favor. Please make a list.
nosotros	hagamos	let’s do / make	Hagamos la comida juntos. Let’s make the meal together.
ustedes	hagan	do / make	Hagan ejercicio esta semana. Do exercise this week.

Useful Hacer Phrases You Need In Real Life

Rule To Example: The Patterns That Matter

Rule	Meaning	Example 1	Example 2
hago is the irregular yo form	I do / I make	Hago la cena los viernes. I make dinner on Fridays.	No hago eso. I do not do that.
Preterite uses hic-	did / made	Hicimos una reservación. We made a reservation.	¿Qué hiciste ayer? What did you do yesterday?
Future and conditional use har-	will do / would do	Haré una llamada. I will make a call.	Harían más ejercicio en verano. They would exercise more in summer.
Past participle is hecho	done / made	He hecho el desayuno. I have made breakfast.	Todo está hecho. Everything is done.
Command for tú is haz	do / make	Haz tu trabajo. Do your work.	Haz una lista primero. Make a list first.

Practice Section

Try these before peeking at the answers. Your brain likes the workout even if it complains dramatically.

1. Complete: Yo ______ la comida todos los días. (present)
2. Complete: Ayer nosotros ______ ejercicio. (preterite)
3. Complete: Mañana ella ______ un pastel. (future)
4. Complete: No ______ ruido. (tú negative command)
5. Translate: We have already done the homework.
6. Translate: It is hot today.

Answers

1. hago — Yo hago la comida todos los días.

2. hicimos — Ayer nosotros hicimos ejercicio.

3. hará — Mañana ella hará un pastel.

4. no hagas — No hagas ruido.

5. Ya hemos hecho la tarea.

6. Hoy hace calor.

Common Mistakes And Fast Fixes

• Wrong: yo haco
  Right: yo hago
  Why: the yo form is irregular.
• Wrong: él hico
  Right: él hizo
  Why: the preterite third-person singular is hizo.
• Wrong: he hacido
  Right: he hecho
  Why: the past participle is irregular.
• Wrong: haz no ruido
  Right: no hagas ruido
  Why: negative commands use the subjunctive form.
• Wrong: estoy hecho la cena
  Right: estoy haciendo la cena
  Why: use haciendo for “am doing / making.”

Quick Reference Summary

• Present: hago, haces, hace, hacemos, hacen
• Preterite: hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicieron
• Imperfect: hacía, hacías, hacía, hacíamos, hacían
• Future: haré, harás, hará, haremos, harán
• Conditional: haría, harías, haría, haríamos, harían
• Subjunctive: haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagan
• Gerund: haciendo
• Past Participle: hecho
• Tú Command: haz

Hacer is irregular, but it is not random. Learn the handful of changed stems, practice them in full sentences, and this verb starts behaving a lot less like a tiny grammar goblin.