Hacer (to do/make) in Spanish

Overview

The verb hacer means "to do" or "to make" and is one of the most versatile verbs in Spanish. At the A1 level, you will use it to talk about activities, weather, and many common phrases. It is irregular, but only in the first person singular (hago) in the present tense, making it relatively easy to learn.

Beyond its core meaning, hacer appears in weather expressions (hace calor, hace frío) and dozens of everyday phrases (hacer deporte, hacer la cama, hacer una pregunta). Mastering hacer gives you access to a wide range of practical vocabulary from day one.

How It Works

Present tense conjugation

Subject	Form	Example
yo	hago	Hago la cena. (I'm making dinner.)
tú	haces	¿Qué haces? (What are you doing?)
él / ella / usted	hace	Hace ejercicio. (He/She exercises.)
nosotros/as	hacemos	Hacemos los deberes. (We do our homework.)
vosotros/as	hacéis	¿Hacéis deporte? (Do you all do sports?)
ellos / ellas / ustedes	hacen	Hacen una fiesta. (They're throwing a party.)

Only hago (yo) is irregular. All other forms follow the regular -er pattern.

Weather expressions with hacer

Hacer is used impersonally (third person singular) for many weather expressions:

Spanish	English
Hace calor.	It's hot.
Hace frío.	It's cold.
Hace sol.	It's sunny.
Hace viento.	It's windy.
Hace buen tiempo.	The weather is nice.
Hace mal tiempo.	The weather is bad.

Note: Rain and snow use different verbs: Llueve (it rains), Nieva (it snows).

Common phrases with hacer

Spanish	English
hacer deporte	to do sports
hacer la cama	to make the bed
hacer una pregunta	to ask a question
hacer la compra	to do the shopping
hacer los deberes	to do homework
hacer cola	to queue / to stand in line
hacer ruido	to make noise
hacer un viaje	to take a trip

Examples in Context

Spanish	English	Note
¿Qué haces?	What are you doing?	Very common question
Hago deporte tres veces a la semana.	I do sports three times a week.	Habitual action
Hace calor hoy.	It's hot today.	Weather
Hacemos la cena juntos.	We make dinner together.	Daily routine
¿Qué tiempo hace?	What's the weather like?	Weather question
Hago la cama por la mañana.	I make the bed in the morning.	Household task
No hago nada este fin de semana.	I'm not doing anything this weekend.	Plans
Hace mucho frío en invierno.	It's very cold in winter.	Seasonal weather
¿Hacéis los deberes?	Do you all do your homework?	Vosotros form
Hacen mucho ruido.	They make a lot of noise.	Complaint

Common Mistakes

Regularizing the yo form

• Wrong: Yo haco la cena.
• Right: Yo hago la cena.
• Why: The first person singular of hacer is hago, not haco. The c changes to g in the yo form.

Using hacer for rain and snow

• Wrong: Hace lluvia.
• Right: Llueve. or Está lloviendo.
• Why: While hacer covers many weather expressions, rain and snow have their own verbs: llover (to rain) and nevar (to snow).

Confusing "hacer" with "tener" for personal sensations

• Wrong: Hago calor. (meaning "I'm hot")
• Right: Tengo calor.
• Why: Hacer describes the weather impersonally (Hace calor = it's hot outside). For personal physical sensations, use tener (Tengo calor = I'm hot).

Using "hacer una fiesta" vs. "dar una fiesta"

• Wrong: Neither is wrong, but be aware of regional variation
• Right: Both hacer una fiesta and dar una fiesta are used
• Why: In some regions, dar una fiesta is preferred for "to throw a party," while hacer una fiesta is more common in others. Both are understood everywhere.

Practice Tips

• Check the weather daily. Look outside and describe it: Hace sol, hace frío, hace viento. This builds the weather vocabulary into your daily routine.
• Describe your daily chores. Use hacer phrases to talk about what you do: Hago la cama, hago la compra, hago los deberes.
• Ask "¿Qué haces?" often. Use this question in conversations and practice answering it with different activities.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Regular -ER Verbs