The Verb Hacer (to Do / to Make) in Spanish – Lesson 41

Hacer: to do, to make

Another yellow verb lesson! Today’s verb is hacer, which means both to do and to make. English has two verbs here, Spanish just one. You’ve actually seen it already: hace calor (it’s hot) and ¿qué haces? (what do you do?).

As always: copy the table into your notebook and fill it in yourself.

Hacer conjugation: present tense

Pronoun	Hacer	English
yo	hago	I do / make
tú	haces	you do / make
él / ella / usted	hace	he / she does / makes, you (formal) do / make
nosotros / nosotras	hacemos	we do / make
vosotros / vosotras	hacéis	you all do / make (Spain)
ustedes	hacen	you all do / make
ellos / ellas	hacen	they do / make

Remember: the h is silent in Spanish. So it’s “a-SER”, not “ha-SER”. (In most of Spain the c sounds like “th”: “a-THER”.)

Yo hago: I do / I make

Algo means “something”. Notice: it’s hago with a g, not haco. That’s the only irregular form of this verb!

Tú haces: you do / you make

Lo mismo (the same thing) from lesson 32!

Él / ella / usted hace: he / she does, you (formal) do

A reservation is una reserva in Spain, and often una reservación in Latin America. And remember: to turn it into a question, you don’t change the word order. Just add the question marks and raise your voice at the end.

Nosotros / nosotras hacemos: we do / we make

Vosotros / vosotras hacéis: you all do (Spain)

In English you “exercise”, in Spanish you “do exercise”: hacer ejercicio. Spanish uses hacer for lots of activities like this.

Ustedes hacen: you all do / make

Ellos / ellas hacen: they do / make

Literally “they make the dinner”: Spanish uses la where English doesn’t need “the”.

Is hacer regular or irregular?

Only slightly irregular. Look at the forms: apart from yo hago, they’re all the stem hac- + the regular -er endings from lesson 37: -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en. So if you know the -er endings, you only need to remember one weird form: hago.

Useful expressions with hacer

Recap: hacer (to do, to make)

Spanish	English
yo hago	I do / make
tú haces	you do / make
él / ella / usted hace	he / she does, you (formal) do
nosotros / nosotras hacemos	we do / make
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■

+ 3 more verb forms

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Practice: hacer

Fill in the right form of hacer. Say it out loud, then click to check.

1. Yo ___ algo importante. (I’m doing something important.)

Yo hago algo importante.

2. ¿Qué ___ tú? (What are you doing?)

¿Qué haces tú?

3. Ella ___ una reserva. (She makes a reservation.)

Ella hace una reserva.

4. Nosotros ___ planes. (We make plans.)

Nosotros hacemos planes.

5. ¿Vosotros ___ ejercicio? (Do you all exercise? Spain)

¿Vosotros hacéis ejercicio?

6. Ellos ___ la cena. (They make dinner.)

Ellos hacen la cena.

7. Say “It’s cold” (the weather).

Hace frío.

Quiz: hacer

10 questions. ¿Qué haces? A quiz!

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if hacer means “do” or “make”?

From the context, and honestly, you don’t need to choose: in Spanish it’s just one verb. Translate it to whatever sounds natural in English.

Why “hace calor” and not “es caliente”?

For weather, Spanish uses hacer: hace calor, hace frío, hace sol (it’s sunny). Caliente is for hot food and drinks, like we saw in the restaurant lesson.

Before you go to the next lesson

Practice hacer a few times before moving on: it’s one of the most-used verbs in Spanish. Grab the free reference sheet below. ¡Hasta la próxima!